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New  Perspectives  on  Politics,  Culture  I  and  Media        ] 


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v.u\MOR  MAGAZINE 

ISSUE  6  •  DECEMBER  2000/JAN2001 

EDITORS 

Jen  Angel  •  Jason  Kucsma 

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inequality  takes  many  romi.s.  and  media  co\erage  of  these  issues  is  pathetic.  While 
there  will  be  plenty  of  sensationalized  "human  interest"  stories  this  holiday  season  about  families 
who  arc  temporarily  down  on  their  luck,  there  will  no  doubt  be  an  absence  of  any  mention  of 
people  w  ho  arc  poor  the  other  364  days  a  year.  The  family  who  is  spending  this  Christmas  at  a 
YMCA  because  their  house  caught  on  fire  will  take  the  center  stage  while  the  millions  of  people 
whose  day-to-day  lives  consist  of  soup  kitchens  and  housing  shelters  will  be  largely  ignored.  We 
have  come  to  expect  such  a  lack  of  context  from  mainstream  media.  We  don't  expect  the  local 
news  to  delve  into  the  infinite,  yet  identifiable,  factors  that  work  to  create  a  society  of  built-in 
economic  inequality. 

That  doesn't  remove  the  power  that  local  and  national  "news"  programs  have  on  creat- 
ing the  reality  that  people  believe  is  the  "current  state  of  things."  It's  basically  a  scenario  where 
people  have  no  idea  how  divided  the  US  is  along  economic  lines,  because  they  don't  have  the 
information  to  make  an  informed  decision.  We're  told  repeatedly  that  we  are  experiencing  a  time 
of  prosperity,  but  how  many  of  us  feel  this  prosperity? 

This  holiday  season  is  a  good  time  for  alternative  media  to  reflect  on  inequality  in 
America.  Conscious  attention  needs  to  be  paid  to  the  harmful  effects  of  rampant,  concentrated 
economic  growth  at  the  sake  of  america's  poor  and  working  class  population.  Consciousness 
isn't  enough  though,  and  we  should  look  to  each  other  for  suggestions  on  how  to  deal  with  insti- 
tutionalized inequality  that  is  built  on  and  reinforces  sexism,  racism,  classism  and  homophobia. 
We  need  to  look  to  each  other  rather  than  to  self-declared  experts,  "moral"  leaders  or  politicians 
for  answers,  because  no  one  is  more  capable  of  understanding  our  situations  than  we  are.  We  need 
to  look  to  each  other  for  inspiration  and  education  because  we  are  the  ones  v^ ith  the  real  know- 
how  needed  to  implement  programs  that  will  sutTicienlly  address  problems  in  our  communities 
and  in  the  world.  A  simple  glance  at  Clamor^  readers  and  writers  illustrates  that  we  are  not  the 
population  of  complacent  apolitical  consumers  that  is  played  up  in  the  media.  Our  readers  are 
acti\  ists  working  on  a  number  of  le\cls;  whether  it  is  marching  on  the  nation's  capital  or  teaching 
kids  or  engaging  in  a  challenging  debate  w  ith  co-workers,  friends  or  family  members.  Clamor 
readers  recognize  that  the  problems  facing  our  society  are  not  easily  sohed  by  single-issue  solu- 
tions, and  they  recognize  that  well-rounded,  well-informed  lives  that  mesh  philosophy  and  daily 
action  create  the  necessary  climate  for  change. 

In  recognition  of  how  important  altcmati\e  media  is  to  the  creation  of  such  a  climate,  we 
have  put  together  another  issue  that  touches  on  a  number  of  tangible  factors  for  why  inequality 
persists  in  this  world.  Unlike  conspiracy  theorists  or  politicians  who  rely  on  bogey-men  or 
scapegoats  to  explain  social  and  political  ills,  we  attempt  to  hold  people,  organizations  and 
institutions  responsible  for  their  actions.  We  ha\e  attempted  to  highlight  a  few  issues  of  inequality 
that  deser\e  more  attention.  From  the  ob\  iousness  of  class  stratification  in  Scott  Indrisek's  piece 
on  New  Brunswick,  NJ.  to  the  more  subtle  issue  of  corporate  and  media  consolidation  ad\ocated 
by  the  National  Association  of  Broadcasters.  This  imbalance  of  power  in  media  is  discussed  at 
length  in  the  interview  with  Media  Alliance's  Andrea  BuiTa.  This  inequity  in  media  extends  to 
how  mass  media  (and  our  own  altcmati\c  media)  chooses  to  report  on  certain  topics.  Consider  the 
difference  between  the  reporting  on  atrocities  in  Chiapas  and  in  Guerrero,  Mexico.  Michelle 
Lucllcn  and  Heather  Pruess'  article  discuss  the  current  situation  there,  and  as  the  title  says,  "Mexico 
is  more  than  just  Chiapas." 

Of  course,  we  all  rccogni/c  that  our  li\cs  do  not  exist  entirely  in  an  often  draining  world 
of  politics  and  economics,  and  that  is  why  Clamor  aho  celebrates  the  lives  and  culture  of  every- 
day people.  What  we  do  in  our  spare  time  when  we're  not  out  smashing  the  state  is.  in  the  end.  just 
as  important  and  valuable.  We  hope  you  enjoy  this  issue! 


Pictured  above  "Adios  Amigos    Hello  Dot  Com"  This  graffiti  welcomes  the  Dot  Com  revolution  to  San  Francisco's  Mission  District— a 

Irflditinnaiiv  lowr  rUs";  minnnty  neighborhood  enperiencing  rapid  gentriticalion  Photo  taken  near  1  J"  .md  Valencia  in  Septemb*" 


^ 


» 

1 

Police  militarize  and 
protests  escalate.  A  look  at 
ttie  tiistory  and  the  current 
state  of  affairs, 
p.  9. 

A  Loud  And  Continued  Uproar  Df  Many  Human  Voices  •  Number  Six  •  DecemberOO/JanuaryOl 


Was  a  Vietnam  Vet  ever  spit  on 
by  a  war  resister'  Jerry 
Lembcke  and  Peter  Werbe 
discuss  the  myths  of  Vietnam, 
p.  39. 


Choice 

Sara  McCarry  51 

Close  Your  Legs  Forever; 

The  Space  Between  Awake  and  Asleep:  The  Fine  Line  Between  Dreams  and 

Reality 

Jennifer  Saboteur  52 

Genderetrophy 

Jennifer  R  Johnson  55 

These  Sentences  Survey  Silence(s) . . . 

m/sz  56 


15 


The  Cop  and  The  Crowd: 

Police  Strategies  for  Keeping  the  Rabble  in  Line 
Kristian  Williams 

Anticipation  &  Preparations: 

A  Weekend  Journal  from  LA  Protests  at  the  DNC 

Kerry  Levenberg 

Strategic  Musings: 

Reflections  on  What  Might  Have  Been  in  Philadelphia  and  Los  Angeles 

Daniel  Fernandez  19 

The  Murderers  Must  Not  Get  What  They  Sought: 

The  Death  of  Jafar  Siddiq  Hamzah;  The  Death  of  a  Revolutionist 

Richard  Oilman  Opalsky  20 

We  Have  the  Facts  and  We're  Voting  Undecided: 


03 


Progress  and  Poverty  in  an  American  College  Town 
Scott  L.  Indrisek 

Money  Changes  Everything: 

Money  As  Freedom 

/  Gerlach 

Tii3  City  Life  of  Fake  Meat 

Beth  Barnett 

Spitting  Image: 

[      The  Image  of  Vietnam  Veterans  in  American  Culture: 

I 

I      An  Interview  with  Jerry  Lembcke 


I     Mexico  Is  More  Than  Just  Chiapas: 

Testimonies  from  Guerrero 
l^ichelle  Luellen  and  Heather  Pruess 

A  Brief  History  of  Skateparks 

Jered  Bogli 


26 

31 
35 


60 


63 


39 


42 


44 


Peter  Werbe 

Hegemonic  Saliva:  A  Review 

Phil  Dickinson 

The  Ann  Arbor  Hot  Rod  Shopping  Cart  Race 

John  Gerken 

Polked  Up  In  Tenessee: 

Getting  Down  On  My  Farm:  The  Dickel  Brothers  Sing  About  Chickens  and 

Whiskey .  46 

Dancing  in  the  Sonic  Dreamland: 

Idapalooza  Begins  the  Next  Generation  of  Queer  Music  Festivals    48 

Sun  frog 


Anarchists  in  Medicine  and  Pharmacy: 

Philadelphia.  1889-1930 

Robert  Helms  67 

Why  I  Do  Not  Care  For  Drugs  Or  Religion 

Pete  Lewis  71 

The  Normal  Guy 

Arron  Spencer  Wilder  74 

Community  Integration: 

Or  How  I  Potlucked  On  The  Clock 

Libby  75 

Towards  SocialJustice: 

Elizabeth  'Betita'  Martinez  and  the  Institute  for  MultiRacial  Justice 

Chris  Crass  !?> 

Media  Alliance  versus  The  National  Association  of 
Broadcasters: 

An  Interview  with  Andrea  Buffa 

Eric  Zass  81 

Branding  The  Cash  Cow  for  Milk  Money: 

The  Dairy  Council's  Successful  Ad  Campaign 

Andrew  Cornell  84 

I've  Got  A  Bad  Feeling  About  This: 

The  Phantom  Menace  and  the  Star  Wars  Trilogy  as  an  Extended  Allegory 

for  the  American  Midwest 

Sean  Carswell  86 


please  address  any  correspondence  to  letters@clamormagazlne.org  or  via  USPS  at  PO  Box  1225  Bowling  Green.  OH  43402 


Dear  Clamor: 

I  received  a  copy  of  your  magazine  be- 
cause I  was  interviewed  for  your  August/Sep- 
tember 2()()()  issue.  I  was  impressed! 

In  addition.  I'd  like  to  comment  on  the 
article  by  Loolwa  Khazzoom  entitled  "Oreo 
Cookie  Feminists."  Ms.  Khazzoom  tells  a  fas- 
cinating story  of  her  going  to  conferences  of 
the  National  Organization  for  Men  Against 
Sexism  (NOMAS).  By  the  end,  she  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  whatever  issue  a  group 
addresses  ine\  itably  will  rear  its  head  within 
that  group. 

I'd  take  that  even  further  in  this  particu- 
lar case.  It's  indeed  not  surprising  that  at  the 
NOMASconferences  year  after  year  there 
were  men  violating  boundaries  with  women.  I 
believe  that  this  is  a  case  of  a  deep-seated  prob- 
lem, one  of  misunderstanding  sexism.  Yes, 
men  make  more  money  than  women,  men  are 
more  likely  to  be  C'HOs  and  in  other  positions 
of  economic  and  political  power,  and  men  are 
physically  stronger  than  women.  This  results 
in  sexism:  a  system  of  advantage  based  upon 
sex. 

But,  for  some  reason,  it's  not  politically 
correct  to  equally  acknowledge  any  system  of 
advantage  based  upon  sex  that  is  disadvanta- 
geous to  men.  It  is  there.  For  example:  Men 
are  80  percent  of  the  homeless,  80  percent  of 
the  drug  addicts,  the  overwhelming  vast  ma- 
jority of  the  prison  population,  and  men  have 
a  life  expectancy  that  is  seven  years  less  than 
for  women.  That  last  item  life  expectancy 
is  one  that  is  commonly  cited  as  proof  of  an 
"ism";  for  example.  Native  and  African  Ameri- 
cans have  a  shorter  life  expectancy  than  whiles. 
It's  not  usually  cited  about  men  versus  uonicn. 
But  it's  there. 

My  point  is  that  sexism,  unlike  racism, 
is  not  a  clear  one-way  phenomenon.  I  belie\e 
it  goes  in  both  directions.  Those  who  go  to 
NOMAS  conferences  at  least  outwardly  be- 
lieve that  it  is  a  clear  one-way  phenomenon 
Men  who  really  buy  into  that  begin  to  inter- 
nalize the  message  that  men  are  the  cause  of 
all  the  problems  in  the  world,  and  that  men 
are,  therefore,  basically  second-class  citizens. 
And  if  we  men  are  to  have  any  redeeming 


qualities,  the  minimum  requirement  would  be  to 
acknowledge  that  we're  solely  responsible  for 
the  screwed  up  world  in  which  we  live,  and  we 
must  constantly  say  that  to  women.  While  femi- 
nist gatherings  may  not  say  these  words  liter- 
ally, this  message  is  perceived  by  many;  and  lit- 
erally articulated  by  some. 

To  me.  then,  it's  no  wonder  that  men  who 
buy  into  that,  have  an  understandable,  but  hid- 
den revolt  going  on  inside  them  which  can  mani- 
fest itself  in  highly  ironic,  inappropriate  shadow 
behavior 

I'm  a  radical  pacifist,  a  conscientious  ob- 
jector to  the  military,  and  an  anti-corporatist 
peace  and  justice  activist.  I  firmly  believe  in  gen- 
der equality  (and  sexual  orientation  equality). 
Bui,  1  do  not  buy  that  sexism  is  all  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  women.  My  bet  would  be  that  if  Ms. 
Khazzoom  would  attend  another  sort  of  men's 
gathering,  one  which  truly  and  unashamedly 
honors  both  men  and  women  for  being — deep 
inside  worthy  human  beings,  then  she  would 
be  much  less  likely  to  come  across  the  boundary 
violation  behavior  that  she  did. 

Michael  Fogler, 
Lexington,  KY 


Hey  y' all. 

The  new  issue  is  great.  I've  been  impressed 
\\  ith  Clamor  from  the  outset,  and  things  just  keep 
getting  better  Some  of  the  pieces  in  this  latest 
issue  are  just  superb;  .Attica  ("Life  in  Attica,"  Sep/ 
Oct),  the  insightful  and  important  article  on  Arab 
Israeli  relations  ("A  Big  Piece  is  Missing  in  this 
Peace."  Sep Oct)  and  keeping  up  on  important 
stuff  like  the  sanctions  on  Iraq  ("In  Our  Name." 
Sep/Oct). 

My  one  real  complaint  is  with  Vique 
Martin's  article  ("Ali\e  in  Africa."  Sep'Oct)  es- 
pecially as  a  co\er  piece. 

Vique  writes  about  her  experiences  in  W- 
rica  with  nary  a  nod  towards  the  issues  of  being 
a  wealthy  while  person  tra\eling  abroad,  not  to 
mention  in  a  countn.  thai  is  so  baitalK  familiar 
with  colonization  by  first  world  nations. 

She  writes  that,  "All  you  need  is  a  friend  to 
travel  with,  a  Rough  (iuidc  Lonely  Planet  book 


and  the  dough." 

I  would  suggest  that  we  also  need  to  keep 
in  mind  a  \er\  healthy  dose  of  the  privileges 
that  entail  being  a  (relatively)  wealthy  white 
person  traveling  in  these  countries.  We  don't 
exist  in  a  vacuum,  outside  of  the  complex  web 
of  imperialism,  global  capitalism,  and  racism 
that  gives  us  the  access  to  these  places. 

She  mentions  her  first  sight  of  coffee 
plantations,  "providing  the  first  thrill  of  the 
day."  This  is  the  only  mention,  in  any  con- 
text, of  the  nefarious  practices  of  global  capi- 
talism which  continue  to  ravage  de\ eloping 
countries,  as  w  ell  as  allowing  us  white  ad\  cn- 
ture  travel  kids  access  to  these  countries.  That 
plantation  is  most  likely  owned  by  a  multi- 
national corporation,  which  has  its  homebase 
in  a  first  world  nation,  just  as  the  author  of 
this  piece  docs.  Not  to  compare  Vique  out- 
right to  a  multinational,  but  in  this  context  the 
two  aren't  completely  disconnected,  either 

I'm  not  tr>  ing  to  speak  for  the  men  that 
Vique  shared  beer  and  conversation  w  ith  on 
her  trip  to  Mt.  Kilimanjaro;  I'm  not  lr\ing  to 
imply  that  she  herself  was  oppressing  these 
men.  or  anyone  else  in  Africa,  with  her  na- 
tionality or  money.  I'm  sure  that  those  men 
were  happy  to  hang  out  with  her.  and  didn't 
seem  to  feel  an\  resentment  towards  her  at 
all.  This  stutT is  complex,  though,  and  what  I 
mean  to  say  is  that  I  would  like  to  have  seen 
this  article  acknow  ledge  the  complexities  of 
cultural  exchanges  such  as  those,  as  well  as 
the  context  that  it  occurred  in.  That  this  ex- 
change took  place  at  all  is  amazing  and  won- 
derful, but  I'm  sure  it  helped  that  these  men 
spoke  "brilliant  english."  rather  than  \ique 
being  able  to  con\  erse  w  ith  them  in  their  home 
language. 

1  don't  mean  to  tear  anyone  dow  n  or  dc- 
\  alue  anyone's  experience;  it's  just  that  keep- 
ing a  critical  eye  to  this  stuff  is  the  kind  of 
thing  I've  come  to  expect  from  a  magazine 
with  the  radical  perspective  that  Clamor  is  a 
shining  example  of 

John  (icrkcn 
Little  Rock.  AR 


Dear  Clamor, 

Reading  Vique  Martin's  "Alive  In  Africa" 
(Sep/Oct)  was  a  disappointing  experience  for  me. 
The  article  came  across  like  the  infamous  slide 
show  that  bores  the  relatives  (especially  where 
she  implores  the  reader  to  look  at  the  picture  of 
how  happy  she  is).  She  references  the  Lonely 
Planet  guidebook,  but  if  I  wanted  the  Lonely 
Planet  version  of  Africa,  I'd  watch  a  Lonely 
Planet  video.  At  least  Lonely  Planet  attempts  to 
inflise  some  sense  of  social  consciousness  into 
its  travel  guides.  The  closest  Martin  comes  to 
questioning  her  status  as  a  traveler,  unfortunately, 
is  when  she  cites  her  consciene  as  a  reason  for 
not  giving  the  natves  money  for  taking  their  pic- 
tures. Since  very  other  aspect  of  her  trip  reflects 
a  consumerist  approach,  where  any  experience — 
exotic  animals,  exotic  beers,  exotic 
accomodations — can  be  obtained  through  the  ex- 
change of  currency,  her  discomfort  seems  odd. 

Running  this  type  of  travel  article  in  this 
magazine  is  trouble  to  me,  since  Clamor  purports 
to  be  "a  loud  and  countinuous  uproar  of  many 
human  voices."  More  and  more,  the  voices  I'm 
reading  in  Clamor  are  of  the  20-something 
middle  class  set,  evidenced  in  most  of  the  other 
articles  in  this  issues.  (It's  not  like  I'm  not  25 
and  middle  class  myself  but  1  hope  to  defy  that 
as  much  as  possible.)  This  certainly  undermines 
the  diversity  you  aim  to  attract. 

In  Martin's  piece  in  particular.  1  take  offense 
at  her  closing  sentences:  "I  went  to  the  plains  of 
the  Serengeti  and  saw  real  lions.  1  did  it.  It  was 
my  pilgrimage.  It  was  what  I  had  to  do  for  my- 
self to  show  myself  that  if  1  want  something 
badly  enough  1  can  do  it.  No  matter  howmany 
miles  have  to  be  traveled  oroceans  crossed — I 
can  get  there.  I  can."  Certainly  you  can,  but  the 
natives  you  observed,  like  nine-tenths  of  the 
world's  population — literally — are  not  as  privi- 
leged. Not  that  they  should  be,  either,  because 
the  politics  of  desire  and  the  culture  of  travel  pro- 
moted in  the  "dc\  eloped"  world  arc  environmen- 
tally unsustainable. 

I  suppose  Martin  meant  it  to  be  an  empow- 
ering statement,  while  perhaps  implying  a  supe- 
rior sneer  at  those  whose  lower  class  status  only 
allow  them  to  see  lions  in  zoos  or  in  National 
Geographic.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  preach  to  Mar- 
tin what  fancies  she  should  or  should  not  indulge 
in,  but  a  inagazine  like  Clamor,  which  previously 
has  run  an  excellent  article  critiquing  automo- 
bile culture,  for  instance,  certainly  does  not  have 
to  promote  it. 

Vincent  Romano 
White  Plains.  NY 

Clamor, 

perhaps  polyamory  proposes  producing  a  prac- 
tical plus  pulsating  perspective  on  people's  pos- 
sibilities promoting  inclusivity  and  love  and  chal- 
lenging possessiveness...  presumably  everyone 
prefers  to  perpetually  feel  beautiful,  alive  and 
loved. ..polyamory  possibly  permits  propagating 


new  modes  of  friendship  in  which  free  individu- 
als can  genuinely  experience  love 

we  might  recall  that  the  nuclear  family  is  a 
VERY  recent  device...  absent  for  all  but  this  brief 
moment  in  time...  the  connection  between  sex 
and  conception  was  unknown  for  almost  all  of 
human  existence...  possibly  polyamory  pro- 
motes re-membering  the  communal  life  that. 
perhaps,  we  all  desire... 

m/sz 
toledohio 

Clamor  readers. 

I'm  putting  together  a  collection  of  essays  for  a 
Punk  Reader.  The  purpose  of  the  book  is  to 
spread  the  word  about  DIY  politics,  music,  aes- 
thetics art,  subjectivities,  and  art.  But  this  isn't 
a  zinc  reader:  it's  a  book  of  essays,  and  it  will 
explain  and  teach  about  punk  to  a  wide  audi- 
ence. 

Needed:  writings  about  DIY.  anarchism, 
veganism,  animal  rights,  dumpster  diving,  squat- 
ting and/'or  punk  houses,  music,  style  (or  anti- 
style),  authentic  punk  vs.  inauthentic  punk, 
homocore.  sur\ i\al  skills.  EarthFirst!.  ecology, 
food,  FNB.  drugs,  spirituality,  views  of  the 
Mainstream,  ideology,  philosophy,  subjectivity, 
socialism/communism,  what  is  a  punk,  on  be- 
ing a  punk,  corporate  commodified  culture, 
stealing  scamming,  sabotage,  crime,  cops,  non- 
violence, the  Spectacle,  the  State,  the  System, 
the  diversity  of  punk,  punks  and  Whiteness/race, 
punks  and  class,  labeling/looking  "punk"  or  not. 
technology,  why  w here/hovvwho  what  when  of 
punk,  punk  by  other  names,  resistance/revolu- 
tion/revolt, commodification  of  punk  music 
style,  strategies  for  punk,  instructions  on  li\  ing 
the  punk  life,  feminism,  the  history  of  punk,  his- 
tory of  any  of  the  above,  the  future  of  punk,  et 
cetera. 

Also  needed:  web  URLs  -*-  book  essa>'  titles 
for  "further  reading"  section.  Much  desired:  art- 
work (drawings,  photos,  cartoons,  comix).  Zines 
are  enthusiastically  welcomed,  but  please  in- 
clude a  note  pointing  to  the  most  relevant  pages. 
Divergent  views  on  punk  are  encouraged. 

About  me:  I'm  an  anarcho-punk,  bom  in 
1969,  grew  up  in  Berkeley,  traveled  around,  did 
my  Ph.D.  in  anthropology  on  Seattle  punx.  1 
work  at  the  University  of  Colorado.  I  am  an 
activist,  and  I  see  punk  as  a  powerfial  force  for  a 
better  world.  I'm  also  an  academic  and  1  will 
include  several  academic  essays.  I'm  doing  this 
my  way  with  help  and  suggestions;  if  you  don't 
like  it  you  can  DIY! 

Please  include  your  conditions/restrictions 
(if  any)  for  publication,  your  contact  info,  and  a 
little  about  yourself  All  submissions  subject  to 
editing  for  space.  I  cant  return  your  stuff,  so 
send  copies,  not  originals.  Send  me  questions/ 
concerns/comments  if  you  like. 

In  solidarity. 


Dylan  Clark 
3090  Broadway 
Boulder,  CO  80304-3150 
dylan(S;!spot.colorado.edu 

Clamor  Readers 

This  is  a  call  for  essays  on  Anarchist  Per- 
spectives on  New  Social  Movements 

The  Institute  for  Anarchist  Studies  is  offer- 
ing a  SI 000  award  for  an  essay  that  advances 
anarchist  perspectives  on  the  new  social  move- 
ments represented  by  recent  and  on-going  inter- 
national anti-globalization  protests.  Essays 
should  address  this  movement  in  a  fashion  that 
links  theory  to  practice  in  order  to  contribute  to 
the  emergence  of  new  anarchist  praxis  -  theory 
informed  by  practice.  Essays  can  address  a  vari- 
ety of  issues  and  perspectives  but  keep  in  mind 
that  we  are  interested  in  contemporary  view- 
points. 

Submissions  should  be  between  3000  and 
10,000  words.  Written  work  already  funded  by 
the  IAS  will  not  be  considered.  The  winning  es- 
say will  receive  $1000  and  excerpts  will  be  pub- 
lished in  the  IAS  newsletter.  Deadline  for  sub- 
missions is  January  1,  2001.  Please  send  nine 
copies  of  your  essay  along  with  a  brief  descrip- 
tion of  yourself  and  your  activities  to  the  address 
below.  (Submissions  must  be  in  English.) 
Website:  http:Tlag. blackened. net  ias, 

Institute  for  Anarchist  Studies 

POBox  1664 

Peter  Stuyvesant  Station 

New  York,  NY 

1 0009 -USA 

http:   nag.blackened.net/ias/ 


Subscribers: 

Thank  you  for  your  patience  as  we  work  through  the  kinks 
of  tracking  and  maihng  to  our  subscribers.  'We  should 
have  all  the  postal  and  database  problems  addressed  by 
now.  If  you  have  not  received  a  specific  issue  in  your 
subscription,  please  do  not  hesitate  to  contact  us  via 
phone:  419.353.7035  or  via  email: 
info@clamormagazine.org.  Thanks  again  for  being 
supportive! 


Clamor 


contributori 


JereJ  Hoiili  (p  63)  has  published  his  /ine,  (cm)  cnohlcti  mind,  since  1993.  In 
addition  lo  the  /ine  and  a  full  time  job  he  teaches  snowboarding  part  time  in  the 
winter,  skates  a  bunch,  does  publishing-related  workshops  at  the  Independent 
Publishers  Resource  Center,  eats  lot  ol'\eggie  sushi,  and  has  recently  been  doing 
a  lot  of  work  on  the  house  he  just  bought.  He  can  be  reached  care  of  clamor. 

.Sean  Curswell  (p  M6)  is  the  author  ol' the  no\el  Drinks  for  ilw  Little  Guy  and 
publisher  ot  the  /ine  Talk  Story.  He  spends  way  too  much  time  reading  left  wing 
literature  and  vsatching  mo\ies  he  checks  out  from  the  library.  You  can  reach 
him  at  gorskyco@aol.com  or  P()  Box  320504  -  Cocoa  Beach.  FL  32932. 

Andy  Cornell  {p.  84)  is  a  23  year-old  activist  and  writer.  For  a  copy  of  the  long- 
aw  aited  fourth  issue  of  his  zinc.  The  Secret  Files  of  Captain  Sissy  send  S3  to  3907 
Wedgwood  Dr.  Portage,  MI  49024.  For  ct)rrespondence  or  to  hang  out.  email 
him  at  captainsissy^w  girlsvv  irl.net 

Chris  Crass  (p.  7X)  is  a  writer/organizer  working  to  bridge  race,  class  and  gender 
analysis  of  power  with  anarchist  theory  and  practice.  He  has  been  on  organizer 
\\  ith  Food  Not  Bombs  for  the  past  eight  years  and  is  currently  working  w  ith  the 
Challenging  White  Supremacy  Workshop  to  bring  anti-racist  organizing  into  the 
mo\enients  against  global  capitalism  and  can  be  reached  at 
chriscrass  1 886(a  hotmail.com. 


Phil  Dickinson  (p.  42)  is  a  16  year-old  boy  masquerading  as  a  36  year-old  man. 
He  uas  recently  awarded  his  Pd.D.  in  American  Culture  Studies  from  Bowling 
(ireen  State  Cni\ersity.  where  he  currently  teaches.  He  also  plays  drums  in  The 
Orgones,  a  garage  punk  band.  He  can  be  reached  at  503  North  Main  #B.  Bow  ling 
(ireen.  OH  43402  or  at  pdickin«(  bgnet.bgsu.edu 

Daniel  Fernandez  (p  19)  li\es  in  New  York  and  is  a  graduate  student  in  the 
philosophy  department  at  the  New  School  for  Social  Research.  Flis  research 
inierests  include  political  theory  and  discourse  analysis.  He  is  also  part  of  the 
lixecutive  Committee  of  Philippine  Forum,  which  seeks  lo  organize  Filipino  as 
in  the  New  York  area  for  social  and  political  change.  Currently,  he  is  working  on 
a  documentary  about  dissent  in  America.  He  can  be  reached  care  of  clamor. 

Travis  Fristoe  (p.  14)  is  usually  either  too  critical  or  too  positive,  for  more  reac- 
tionary &  jargon-ladden  "insights,"  write  to  box  13077  '  gainesvillc.  fL  32604. 

.lohn  (ierken  (p  44)is  hobo-erotic,  smells  like  freight  trains  and  bike  chains.  He 
is  currently  involved  with  putting  together  the  DIY  Book  with  Tree  of  Know  ledge 
Distributions  as  well  as  various  projects  concerning  handmade  maps,  which  you 
should  make  and  send  to  him.  He  can  be  reached  care  of  Tree  of  Knowledge  at 
PO  Box  251766    Little  Rock.  AR  72225 

./.  (ierlach  (p.  3 1 )  takes  breaks  from  frequent  tra\els  in  his  hometow  n  of  Minne- 
apolis where  he  rides  bicycles  and  works  on  various  projects  including  the  zinc. 
lireakjast  Served  All  Day.  He  can  be  reached  at  1827  Fifth  St.  NE  /  Minneapolis. 
MN.  55418. 


Ml  o\' Richard (iilman-Opalsky\  (p.  20)  \arious  mo\  ing  parts  operate  under  his 
close  iliscrction  lie  likes  to  spend  good  times  with  snuggly  Robyn  and  the  cud- 
dly cats.  He  likes  to  read,  make  music,  and  write  essays  like  a  mighty  ideologue. 
He  studies  philosophy  at  the  New  School  in  NYC  for  the  MA  and  Ph.D.  He  also 
seeks  to  use  his  hands,  legs,  and  mouth  to  make  noises  that  draw  attention  to 
social,  political  and  economic  inequities...  He  is  a  pretty  skilled  wordsmith,  and 
considers  his  mouth  a  weapon...  Direct  all  lo\c  letters  and  hale  mail  to 
ihoughtandaclion'w  yahoo.com 

Shawn  dranlon  (p.  32)  has  published  the  mini-conuc  Ten  Fool  Rule  for  over 
three  years.  The  comic  covers  a  whole  range  of  styles  and  subieci  mailers,  mostly 
on  the  humorous  side.  He  also  publishes  Modem  Industry,  an  anthologv  ihai 
contains  some  of  the  best  crc, iters  ilic  sm.ill  press  has  lo  olVcr  Ten  Foot  Ride  is 
SIppd  and  Modern  lndii\ir\  is  S2ppd  <  oiitact  Sha\Mi  ,ii  1 10  Pacific  Ave.  «296' 
San  Francisco,  CA  941 1 1  or  .it  shawiiitr  ii  hotmail.coni 

Mandy  Hackley  (p  43)  is  a  graduate studeni  ,it  K.cni  .Slate  University.  She  has  a 
pel  Irog  (named  (iarp)  and  hopes  one  ilay  lo  be  CHiiadi.in.  She  can  be  reached 
care  of  clamor. 


of  his  ytnc  GF/i/iiii  /'/v 


Hoh  Helms  (p.  67)  is  presenllj  releahnii;;  ilic  Sth  issue 
/iiii      I  .loiirnal  For  Human  l<i\i<i'x-h  Suhjccts.  and  volunteers  for  druy 
i\[urinunl\  on  a  prolewionol  hasis  He  is  piiNing  together  a  Ivxik  on  the  annrchisi 
mosemeni  in  Philadelphia  around  the  turn  ol  iIk  .''OihCcnlury.  |[ccanbc  ictche 
at  gpzcroa;  nelaxs  com 


Scott  Indrisek  (p.  26)  lives  and  occasionally  works  in  New  Brunswick,  New 
Jersey.  1  le  is  the  former  editor-in-chief  of  the  short-lived  magazine  SKIPTRACER. 
He  has  also  begun,  discarded,  and  then  re-started  the  same  eno\el-in-progressi 
for  the  past  two  years.  Wish  him  luck  by  emailing  BigMonkeyCar(^ol.comi 

Jennifer  R.  Johnson  is  a  sometimes  published  writer,  self-proclaimed 
Feminist,  and  first-year  Law  student  at  Santa  Clara  University.  When  not 
studying  or  writing,  she  enjoys  reading,  cooking,  and  hip-hop  dance.  She  can 
be  reached  at  jen.johnsonto  home.com. 

Kerry  Levenberg  (p.  15)  is  an  organizer  with  San  Francisco  Food  Not  Bombs 
He  can  be  reached  at  kerryl@sirius.com 

Pete  Lewis  (p.  71 )  is  a  20-something  Welsh  writer  currently  living  in  Portland 
Oregon.  He  contributes  lo  Streeiroots  newspaper  and  has  just  finished  his  first 
no\el.  When  not  driving  a  forklift  truck  for  some  shameless  corporation,  he  is 
working  on  a  non-tlction  book  about  his  experiences  growing  up  in  Bahrain  in 
the  Persian  Gulf  He  would  love  to  hear  from  anybody  who  has  anything  to  say 
about  his  work.  Contact  him  at  2307  SE  Taggart  St  Portland  OR. 
pytorlewiski@hotmail.com 


Libby  (p.  75)  actually  quit  her  job.  moved  to  Vermont  and  hasn't  been  lo  a  good 
polluck  in  months.  She  misses  her  guys  while  adoring  chickens,  painting  on 
scrap  wood  and  thinking  about  pulling  out  another  issue  of  her  zine  Grow  Your 
Own.  She  can  be  reached  care  of  clamor. 

Michelle  Luellen  (p.  60)  is  a  first  year  teacher  of  English  and  History  at  an  Alter- 
native High  School  in  Chicago.  She  often  thinks  she  learns  more  than  her  kids 
do.  She  is  also  the  long  time  editor  of  Design  «  S16  zine.  and  loves  to  ride  her 
bike  at  2am  when  the  streets  are  quiet.  She  can  be  reached  care  of  clamor 

m/sz  (p.  56)  activ  isi  basketballer  chef  dejay  dance  enthusiast  frequently  found  in 
"tolcdohio"  -  currently  co-ediling  a  children's  DW  book  with  sarah  s  scoll  and 
helping  to  host  toledo's  no  borders  culinary  carnival  a  gathering  and  street  partv 
exploring  all  aspects  of  FOOD  -  precisely  production  •  privation  •  preparation  • 
preservation  •  plus  the  proliferation  of  pleasure  for  the  palate...  June  I  •2*3  2001 
alienated  access:  mszuberlait;  yahoo.com  or  535winthrop    toledohio  43620 

Sarah  McCarry  (p.  51)  lives  on  an  island  near  Seattle  and  is  perpetualK  dis- 
gruntled. You  can  reach  her  care  of  clamor. 

Heather  Pruess  (p.  60)  is  en  route  from  Boise  to  Chicago  and  scared  as  hell.  She 
can  reached  care  of  clamor. 

Bahak  Rastgoufard  ( p.  82 )  is  currently  living  in  Clev  eland  and  in  his  first  year  of 
law  school  [at  Case  Western  Resen  e  Univ  ersityj.  When  he's  not  busy  w  ith  school, 
he  likes  running  through  in  his  local  cemetery.  He  can  be  reached  at 
rastgoufardw  yahoo.com 

Jennifer  Saboteur  (p.  52)  lives  in  New  York  where  she  spends  her  free  time 
looking  ferv  ently  across  the  city  for  tight  pants,  non-sticky  lubrication,  and  mini- 
mi/er  bras  on  sale.  She  is  a  card-carrying  member  of  the  Female  Spy  Network 
and  can  be  contacted  v  ia  Email.  JKSaboteur(a aoi.com 

sunfrog  (p.  46.  48)  transplanted  to  the  hills  of  rural  Tennessee  from  the  urban 
w  ilderness  of  Detroit's  Cass  Corridor.  Sunfrog  is  a  life-lov  ing  pansexual.  irrever- 
ent idealist,  corny  poet,  cultural  critic,  part-time  teacher,  and  communal  activist 
w  ho  hopes  to  one  day  learn  how  grow  his  ow  n  food,  communicate  telepathically. 
and  participate  in  a  nonviolent  anarchist  revolution. 

Hilly  Tile  ip.  91 )  self-publishes  several  independent  comics  including  Tile  and 
Invisihlc  Robot  Fi\h    Contact  hiin  at  BillvCSQP  (/  aol.com. 

Peter  Herhc(p.  39)  is  ,i  siiff  member  ol  I  lie  y-'i'/?A  Folate .  the  longest  publishing 
I  nglish-langtiage  anarchist  ncwspapci  in  \nieric.nn  history.  Sample  copies  are 
available  fmm  4632  Second  Ave,  IViumi  Ml  4S201.  Peter  is  also  the  Public 
AlTairs  Director  for  WCSX-FM  and  W  RIF-FM  in  Detroit.  His  interviews  are 
broadcast  vi.i  ihc  internci  at  wcsx.com  and  wiil.com  in  Real  .Audio.  Sundavs  at 
7am  and  1  Ipm  I  ST.  re^poctively^jr*"^ 


>CV- 


irron  Spencer  Wilder  ^p.  ''4)  is  .i  ilissaiisfied  CEO  of  a  well  known  multina- 
iional  corporatH-in.  cr.iw  ling  ihmugli  tr attic  on  some  freeway  in  the  silicon  vallev 
■.  I  «  tile    ^^^^I  iHii  lAMitact  him  care  of  clamor. 

hristiun  miliums  (p  '>)  is  ,i  member  or  Portland  CopWatch.  He  can  be  reached 
ni  P( )  \U'\  i<h-r    J*ortl.ind.  OR  972S6-0547 


Police  Strategies  for  Keeping  the  Rabble  in  Line 

words  by  Kristian  Williams 
photos  by  Greg  Fuchs 


Police  fear  crowds.  Crowds  are  dangerous,  especially 
for  authorities.  Crowds  are  unpredictable.  They  allow 
for  anonymity,  or  the  feeling  of  anonymity,  and  thus  breed 
courage.  And,  with  any  crowd  worthy  of  the  name,  the 
police  are  certain  to  be  outnumbered. 

The  need  to  control  crowds  is  a  permanent  feature  of  political  authority,  but  it  presents  a  special  set  of 
problems  in  alleged  democracies.  The  difficulty  is  especially  acute  when  crowds  gather  for  an  explicitly  political 
purpose.  Open  repression  may  have  unfavorable  political  repercussions,  and  neutrality  or  acquiescence  are  not 
options  for  anyone  who  wants  to  remain  in  power.  The  question  remains,  always,  how  to  control  the  crow  d.  not 
whether  to  do  so. 

This  is  not  a  matter  that  anyone  who  is  politically  active  can  afford  to  ignore.  There  has  recently  been  a 
perceptible  shift  in  the  level  of  police  response  to  large  demonstrations,  beginning  with  the  WTO  protests  in 
Seattle.  In  the  year  since  then,  riot  gear  has  become  a  fairly  common  sight.  Police  seem  increasingly  ready  to  use 
tear  gas  and  less-lethal  munitions.  And,  in  connection  with  any  significantly  large  event,  pre-emptive  arrests  and 
no-protest  zones  have  become  almost  standard.  It  is  with  this  in  mind  that  we  must  proceed,  considering  the 
various  ways  this  problem  has  been  addressed  in  the  United  States  ov  er  the  past  40  years,  with  reference  to  the 
broader  social  forces  which  have  shaped  the  policing  of  protest  during  that  time. 


r 


jtory  and  Theory  of  Crowd  Control  since  the  1960's 


There  are  two  modes  of  response  available  to  police  when  confronting 
crowds.  The\  carry  the  names  "escalated  force"  and  "negotiated 
management"  (McPhail  50).  "As  its  name  indicates,  the  escalated  force 
style  of  protest  policing  was  characterized  by  the  use  of  force  as  a  standard 
way  of  dealing  with  demonstrations.  Police  confronted  demonstrators 
with  a  dramatic  show  of  force  and  followed  with  a  progressively  escalated 
use  of  force  if  demonstrators  failed  to  abide  by  police  instructions  to 
limit  or  stop  their  acli\  ities."  ( McPhail  5.^ ).  Such  force  could  take  dilTcrent 
forms.  Sometimes,  arrests  quickly  followed  any  violation  of  the  law,  or 
even  occurred  where  no  law  had  been  broken.  These  arrests  were  forceful 
and  were  often  used  to  target  and  remove  "troublemakers."  Other  times, 
police  would  use  force  in  lieu  of  arrests,  either  to  disperse  the  crovsd  or 
to  issue  summary  punishment  against  those  \\  ho  disobeyed  their  orders 
(McPhail  53).  First  amendment  rights  were  generally  ignored  (McPhail 
51).  ■■Well-known  demonstrations  in  which  police  used  the  escalated 
force  approach  include  those  in  the  Birmingliani  civil  rights  campaign 
(May  1963),  the  1968  Chicago  Democratic  National  C'on\ention,  and 
the  confrontation  betw  een  student  protesters  and  National  Guard  soldiers 
at  Kent  State  University  (May  1970)"  (McPhail  50-51). 

The  di  (Terences  between  escalated  force  and  negotiated  management 
are  clear.  Under  the  negotiated  management  model,  "Police  do  not  try  \o 
prevent  demonstrations,  but  attempt  to  liinit  the  amount  of  disruption 
they  cause. . . .  Police  attempt  to  steer  demonstrations  to  times  and  places 
where  disruption  will  be  minimized.  .  .  .  Even  civil  disobedience,  by 
dcdnition  illegal,  is  not  usually  prt)blematic  for  police;  they  often 
cooperate  with  protesters  when  their  ci\ii  disobedience  is 
intentionally  symbolic"  (McPhail  52).  Under  negotiated 
management,  arrests  are  used  only  as  a  last  resort,  and  only  used 
agamst  mdividuals  who  have  clearly  violated  the  law  (McPhail 
53).  Force,  likewise,  is  kept  to  a  ininimum.  Rather  than  trying  to 
disperse  the  crowd,  the  police  plan  so  as  to  contain  it. 

With  tiiis  management  model,  police  focus  on  preventing  a 
disturbance,  rather  than  responding  to  one.  They  do  this  by 
negotiatnig  uith  protest  organizers,  by  reaching  agreements  on 
elements  such  as  the  route  of  the  march,  by  regulating 
demonstrations  through  a  system  of  pemiits,  and  by  encouraging 
organizers  to  provide  their  own  marshals  and  exercise  discipline 
o\  er  the  group  as  a  whole. 

Negotiated  management  was  designed  to  correct  for  the 
excesses  and  shortcomings  of  the  escalated  force  inodel.  Following 
the  urban  riots  of  the  1960's,  several  commissions  were  set  up  to 
study  the  disturbances,  their  causes,  and  the  police  response  to 
them.  Most  prominent  among  these  were  the  Kerner,  jjsenhower 
and  Scranton  C'ominissions.  All  three  bodies  found  that  police 
actions  against  crowds  often  exacerbated,  and  in  some  cases 
provt)ked,  the  ci\  il  disorder  Consequently.  tiie\  ad\  ised  a  number 
of  changes  take  place  in  police  handling  of  demonstrations.  The 
Kerner  Commission,  for  instance,  recommended  a  strateg\ 
emphasizing  inanpower  over  firepower,  prevention  over  reaction, 
and  increased  management  and  regimentation  of  the  police. 

\\  hat  strikes  the  contemporary  reader  about  these  reports  is 

the  apparent  schizophrenia  of  them  all.  1  hev  decry  social  injustice 

with  criticisms  of  racial  discrimination,  prison  conditions,  and  the 

plight  of  the  urban  poor  They  push  for  greater  inclusi\ity  at  all 

le\els  for  society.  But  they  also  denounce  the  actis ilies  by  which 

allenlion  was  successfully  brougiil  to  these 

problems  and  change  affected.    1  he 

I  iscnhower  report  explicitly  denounces 

ci\  il  disiibedience  aiul  the  Scranton  lepoil 

insists  that  those  responsible  lor  campus 

unrest  be  disciplined.  These  reports  push 

for  rigorous  adherence  to  Constitutional  Alter  dispersing  a  crowc 

guarantees  of  free  speech  and  the  like.  •'""•  o'  City  Hall  poi 

1    1       .  .1                  .            ,v  clamp  down  on  RN„ 

while  at  the  same  lime  ollennu  precise  .   .        L,  .  ,  ^     . 

'    '  pioteslers  in  Ptiiladelphia  at 

17lh  and  lociisl 


instruction  on  the  means  of  limiting,  containing,  and  controlling  protests. 
It  is  tempting  to  read  such  documents  as  well-intentioned  but 
politically  naive  defenses  of  the  rule  of  law.  But,  rather  more 
appropriateh',  one  might  also  understand  them  as  handbooks  for  social 
managers  and  others  responsible  for  controlling  dissent.  Taken  as  such, 
their  ad\  ocacy  of  civil  liberties  and  the  principle  of  minimal  force  reflect 
the  sophistication  of  the  liberal  approach  to  repression.  Negotiated 
management  was  an  innovation  in  the  means  of  crowd  control,  but  the 
basic  aim  remains  unchanged.  Both  negotiated  management  and  escalated 
force  represent  a  defense  of  the  status  quo. 

Seattle:  A  Tuning  Point 

(ii\cn  this  background,  it  is  easy  to  see  why  the  Seattle  police  were  ill- 
prepared  for  u  hat  happened  at  the  WTO  protests  in  No\  ember  of  1999. 
According  to  the  Seattle  Police  Department's  After  Action  Report  police 
planners  adopted  a  negotiated  management  strategy  early  on  and  failed 
to  consider  contingencies  which  would  make  other  options  necessan.. 
Despite  v\  ell-publicized  plans  to  disrupt  the  WTO  conference,  the  police 
decided  to  "'Trust  that  Seattle's  strong  historical  precedents  of  peaceful 
protest  and  our  on-going  negotiations  w  ith  protests  groups  would  govern 
the  actions  of  demonstrators"  (Kimerer  18). 

In  this,  they  were  tw  ice  disappointed.  Not  only  did  radicals  refuse 
to  play  the  game  by  its  usual  rules,  even  respectable  protest  groups  w  ere 
unable  to  keep  their  members  in  line.  Hence,  w  hen  police  changed  the 
route  of  the  pennitted  AFL  march,  hoping  to  keep  union  members  away 
from  the  downtown  disturbance,  they  were  surprised  when  se\eral 


thousand  of  the  marchers  ignored  the 
marshals,  left  the  route,  and  joined  the  fra\ 
(Kimerer40). 

The  SPD  offered  this  analysis  of  their 
mistake:  "While  we  needed  to  think  about  a 
new  paradigm  of  disruptive  protest,  we  relied 
on  our  know  ledge  of  past  demonstrations, 
concluding  that  the  "worst  case'  would  not 
occur  here"  (Kimerer  3). 

Such  blindness  is  a  typical  fault  of 
police  agencies.  Equally  typical  is  the  panic 
that  follows  a  defeat — a  panic  felt  not  only 
in  Seattle,  but  around  the  country,  resulting 
in  the  sudden  shift  in  police  tactics  at 
demonstrations  nationwide.  "Changes  and 
learning  processes  of  the  police  are  initiated 
by  an  analyses  of  problematic  public  order 
interventions,  that  is,  the  police  learn  from 
their  failures. . . .  The  importance  of  the  body 
of  past  experience,  howe\  er.  seems  such  that 
it  prevents  the  police  from  anticipating 
change.  Tactical  and  strategic  errors  in 
confrontations  with  new  movements  and 

protest  forms  ma\  trigger  ofTa  relapse  into  an  antagonistic  protest  policing 
style"  (della  Porta  and  Reiter  30). 

The  response  from  the  authorities  has  sadly  lacked  imagination.  In 
general,  the  analyses  of  the  police  defeat  in  Seattle  fall  into  roughly  two 
categories — those  that  defend  the  negotiated  management  model,  and 
those  that  urge  a  return  to  escalated  force.  The  Seattle  City  Council's 
WTO  Accountability  Review  Committee  defends  negotiated 
management;  the  R.M.  McCarthy  and  Associates  report  (commissioned 
by  Mayor  Paul  Schcll)  makes  the  case  for  escalated  force.  Neither 
document  is  surprising  given  the  history  of  this  debate,  but  it  is  worth 
considering  their  arguments  as  they  represent  the  current  positions  on 
each  side. 

The  McCarthy  and  Associates  report  was  written  primarily  by  three 
retired  law  enforcement  officers  from  New  York  and  Los  Angeles.  In  it, 
they  discuss  the  planning,  preparations,  and  execution  of  the  SPD's  WTO 
operation,  attributing  its  failure  to  the  weaknesses  of  the  negotiated 
management  model.  They  argue  that  "Had  a  restricti\e  safety  zone  been 
established,  protest  areas  designated  outside  of  the  zone,  and  additional 
personnel  from  other  agencies  been  planned  for  and  deployed  in  a  pre- 
emptive manner  on  November  26,  the  results  would  likely  ha\e  been 
different"  ( 1 32).  They  specifically  recommend  the  early  deployment  of 
National  Guard  troops  on  "training"  status,  citing  the  1968  Chicago 
Democratic  National  Convention  as  historical  evidence  of  the  efficacy 
of  such  a  mo\e  (38). 

In  sum.  the  McCarthy  report  suggests  that  the  police  state  established 
in  response  to  the  demonstrations  should  have  been  set  up  in  advance. 
In  fact,  it  argues  that  the  police  response  didn't  go  far  enough.  "The 
review  team  believes  the  decision  to  allow  any  previously  scheduled 
marches  or  demonstrations  to  proceed  after  violence  had  erupted  was 
unwise"  (59).  Furthennore,  they  urge  the  removal  of  language  in  police 
policy  suggesting  that  crowds  be  mo\  ed  or  dispersed  "peacefully,"  and 
suggest  adding  explicit  instructions  that  police  make  as  many  arrests  as 
possible  (129-130). 

Luckily,  elected  officials  are  likely  to  find  such  draconian  policies 
difficult  to  stomach.  The  City  Council's  review  committee  referred  to 
the  McCarthy  report  as  a  "crude  and  unsatisfying"  document  (WTO  1 3 ), 
and  reached  almost  entirely  opposing  conclusions.  Rather  than  pressing 
for  a  more  forceful  response,  the  City  Council's  committee  concluded 
that  the  SPD's  operations  were  often  senseless,  and  better  left  undone. 
"VIcmbers  of  the  public,  including  demonstrators,  were  victims  of  ill- 
conceived  and  sometimes  pointless  police  actions  to  'clear  the  streets'" 
(WTO  3).  Such  an  approach,  they  suggest,  is  always  brutal  and  often 
self-defeating.  For  example.  "The  unintended  consequence  of  police 


Police  arrest  an  Al  RNC  protester 

engaged  in  a  traffic  blockade  at 

r-     ■.  1  nil  .  IGthand  Vine  in  Philadelphia. 

actions  on  C  apitol  Hill  was  to 

bring  sleepy  residents  out  of 

their  homes  and  mobilize  them  as  "resistors.'"  (WTO  10).  It  may  have 

been  preferable  to  have  let  the  crowds  mill  about  in  the  streets,  and 

disperse  on  their  own.  In  advancing  this  analysis,  the  Accountability 

Re\  iev\  Committee  echoes  the  Scranton  Commission:  "[T]o  respond  to 

peaceful  protest  with  repression  and  brutal  tactics  is  dangerously  unwise. 

It  makes  extremists  of  moderates,  deepens  the  divisions  in  the  nation 

and  increases  the  chances  that  future  protests  will  be  violenf  (U.S. 

President's  Commission  2). 

While  both  sides  acknowledge  that  better  preparation  was  needed, 
the  question  of  what,  precisely,  the  police  should  have  prepared  for  is 
hotly  disputed.  The  City  Council's  committee,  while  recommending  that 
more  officers  and  better  security  barriers  be  used  to  deter  lawbreaking, 
also  condeiTined  the  abandonment  of  ci\il  liberties  and  the  principle  of 
minimal  force  once  the  disturbance  was  underway.  They  urged,  not  for 
more  force,  but  for  increased  accommodation  as  a  remedy:  "It  is  clear  to 
the  committee  that  demonstrators  who  sought  arrest — in  order  to 
underline  their  statements  of  principle — should  have  been  accommodated 
by  police.  Tear  gas  is  a  cruel  implement  to  use  against  persons  try  ing  to 
make  deeply  felt  statements  against  what  they  view  as  injustice"  (WTO 
15). 

Essentially,  the  City  Council's  committee  thinks  the  problem  was 
not  with  the  negotiated  management  strategy,  but  with  its  implementation. 
This  may,  however,  rely  on  a  misconception  about  the  aims  of  the 
demonstrators.  A  great  many  of  those  who  took  part  in  the  direct  action 
did  not  ha\e  an\  intention  of  getting  arrested.  They  were  there  not  only 
to  "underline  their  statements  of  principle"  against  the  WTO,  but  to 
disrupt  its  proceedings  and  shut  the  flicking  thing  down! 

McCarthy  and  Associates  imply  that  w  here  negotiated  management 
failed  on  November  30.  escalated  force  succeeded  on  December  1.  If 
this  is  true,  then  the  lesson  of  Seattle  ought  to  be  that  the  negotiated 
management  model  is  one  strategy  of  control,  but  that  to  exclusively 
rely  on  it  is  to  court  disorder.  Escalated  force  must  always  be  prepared 
for.  as  a  backup.  This  is  really  a  community  policing  model  applied  to 
demonstrations:  if  the  Good  Cop  docs  his  job  well  enough,  the  public 
need  never  see  the  Bad  Cop.  But  the  Bad  Cop  must  still  be  there,  off 
stage,  in  case  the  Good  Cop  fails. 

What  the  McCarthy  team  recommends,  and  what  we've  seen  to 
various  degrees  since  Seattle,  is  to  re-establish  escalated  force  as  the 
primary  strategy  of  control.  They  recommend  that  the  police  strateg\ 
center  on  the  use  of  force  and  that  negotiation  be  used  to  gather 
intelligence  and  clearly  outline  the  boundaries  for  protest  organizers. 


r 


ncrc  is  if  the  Bad  Cop  is  bad  enough,  he  may  only  need  to  aet  in 
or  symbohc  ways  to  keep  the  crowd  in  hne.  Negotiation  with  the 
(.luod  Cop  starts  to  look  more  attractive,  as  does  playing  by  the  rules. 
This,  in  essence,  is  the  strategy  of  political  terrorism.  The  threat  of 
violence  is  made  clear  at  every  turn,  and  a  politically  useful  climate  of 
fear  is  carefully  developed  to  control  the  population. 


The  Good  Cop/Bad  Cop  Routine 

Massive  displays  of  force  are.  by  their  nature,  imprecise.  During  the 
WTO,  "residents,  drivers,  and  shoppers  were  all  indiscriminately 
attacked.  They  were  attacked  in  their  homes,  in  their  front  yards,  as  they 
dined  at  restaurants  and  as  they  left  grocery  stores"  (Richmond).  The 
indiscriminate  nature  of  the  attack  is  characteristic  of  a  terrorist  act.  Such 
operations  are  not  designed  to  uphold  the  law.  or  to  protect  public  safety, 
but  to  establish  control — to  maintain  power.  The  state,  having  lost  control 
in  the  streets,  sought  to  regain  it  by  means  of  terrorizing  the  general 
population  -forcing  them  into  silence. 

A  few  months  later.  Los  Angeles  City  Council  member  Jackie 
Goldberg  was  outraged  to  see  a  similar  strategy  pursued  at  the  Democratic 
National  Convention.  "There  is  an  atmosphere  of  intimidation  that  is 
unbelievable,"  she  .said.  "What  we  arc  doing  is  creating  a  climate  of 
fear"  (Duant). 

But  the  alternative  to  fear  may  be  futility.  State  terror  is  one  means 
of  controlling  a  population,  perhaps  even  the  means  most  favored  by 
police  agencies.  But  there  are  other  means  better  suited  to  a  political 
system  which  espouses  ideals  of  freedom  and  popular  sovereignty.  The 
Eisenhower  Coinmission  offers  the  Peace  Moratorium  March  of 
November  15,1 969  as  illustrating  one  alternative:  "The  bulk  of  the  actual 
work  of  maintaining  the  peacefulness  of  the  proceedings  was  performed 
by  the  demonstrators  themselves.  An  estimated  five  thousand  'marshals.' 
recruited  from  among  the  demonstrators.  (Tanked  the  crowds  throughout. 
Their  ctTectiveness  was  shown  when  they  succeeded  in  stopping  an 
attempt  by  the  fringe  radicals  to  leave  the  line  of  the  march  in  an  effort 
to  reach  the  White  House."  (National  Commission  75). 


The  nature  of  such  a  arrangement  is  not  lost  on  those  w  ho  study 
law  enforcement.  The  academic  literature  describes  marshals  who 
"'police'  other  demonstrators"  (McPhail  53),  and  who  have  a 
"collaborative  relationship"  w  ith  the  police  ( Waddington  1 22.  emphasis 
in  the  original). 

If  the  escalated  force  model  relies  on  the  strategy  of  terrorism, 
negotiated  management  uses  the  techniques  of  community  policing — 
the  strategy  of  co-optation.  Ironically,  while  conventional  wisdom 
associates  escalated  force  with  the  militarization  of  the  police  (and 
contrasts  it  with  community  policing),  in  point  of  fact,  militarization  is  a 
key  component  of  community  policing  and  essential  to  negotiated 
management. 

Community  policing  describes  a  model  of  law  enforcement  wherein 
the  police  apparatus  (though  not  necessarily  the  officers  themselves) 
becomes  integrated  into  the  community.  Advocates  of  community 
policing  talk  about  "community  involvement"  and  "shared  problem- 
solving."  though  in  practice  certain  populations  generally  get  counted 
among  the  problems  to  be  solved  rather  the  community  to  be  involved. 

For  instance,  under  a  community  policing  model,  police  priorities 
may  be  identified  by  the  "community" — usually,  by  business  and  real 
estate  interests.  The  police  then  involve  the  "community"  in  crafting  a 
solution — such  as  by  enlisting  social  service  agencies  to  increase  control 
over  their  clients.  If  the  social  service  agencies  refuse  to  be  co-opted, 
they  run  the  risk  of  being  labeled  "uncooperative."  leading  to  problems 
with  their  neighbors,  landlords,  and  funding  sources.  If  they  do  cooperate, 
however,  their  entire  infrastructure — ideally,  the  whole  of  society — 
becomes  a  tool  for  law  enforcement. 

Essentially,  the  same  dynamic  is  employed  in  the  negotiated 
management  approach  to  policing  protest.  The  police,  again,  often 
representing  the  needs  of  business  or  local  government,  enlist  the  protest 
organizations  to  control  the  demonstrators,  essentially  putting  the 
organization  at  least  partly  in  the  service  of  the  state,  and  intensifying 
the  control  function. 

The         relationship  The  anarchist  down  bloc  ran  around 

between  this  strategy  and  ,  .  "".^''f '="',^'^  ""^'"«  '"s"';''^";" '« 

"■'  distract  the  pohce  from  various  lockdowns. 


the  process  of  militarization  is  both  historical  and  conceptual.  Historically, 
the  shift  in  police  strategy  was  largely  prompted  by  the  federal 
government.  It  was  shaped  by  various  commission  reports.  Supreme 
Court  rulings,  the  development  of  the  National  Park  Service  pennit 
system,  and  the  availability  of  crowd  control  training  at  the  U.S.  Amiy 
Military  Police  School  (McPhail  54).  This  training  was  specifically 
designed  based  on  the  recommendations  in  the  Kemer  and  Eisenhower 
reports.  The  escalated  force  model  was  abandoned,  and  the  negotiate 
management  model  developed  (McPhail  62-3). 

Militarization  does  not  only  refer  to  police  tactics  and  weaponry, 
but  also  to  their  mode  of  organization.  The  Kemer  report  argued  for  it 
explicitly:  "The  control  of  civil  disturbances  ...  requires  large  numbers 
of  disciplined  personnel,  comparable  to  soldiers  in  a  military  unit, 
organized  and  trained  to  work  as  a  team  under  a  highly  unified  command 
and  control  system"  (National  Advisorv'  Commission  1 74). 

It  is  military  discipline  that  makes  negotiated  management  a 
possibility,  by  restraining  the  individual  officers  while  maintaining  the 
potential  for  a  coordinated  attack.  "Not  only  must  protesters  be  controlled, 
so  too  must  the  police  operation,  since  the  greatest  threat  is  that  some 
ill-considered  action  by  an  officer  might  spark  an  unwanted 
confrontation"  ( Waddington  122).  This  requires  careful  planning  of  the 
operation  itself,  and  a  high  level  of  discipline  among  the  officers,  so  that 
each  one  acts  according  to  the  overall  plan  (Waddington  122-3).  Hence, 
militarization  may  increase  brutality  as  a  modus  operandi,  but  may 
decrease  individual  acts  of  brutality,  owing  to  increased  discipline  (della 
Porta  and  Reiter  11-12). 

Previously,  individual  acts  of  brutality  were  tolerated  or  encouraged 
as  a  strategy  of  controlling  the  population  through  terror.  For  example. 
"Chicago  police  [had  been  led]  to  expect  that  violence  against 
demonstrators,  as  against  rioters,  would  be  condoned  by  city  officials" 
(Walker  \ii).  But  this  approach  can  be  limiting,  as  it  makes  negotiation 
and  co-optation  less  likely.  Militarization  formalizes  the  strategy  of 
\ iolence  at  the  institutional  level,  discouraging  individual  acts  for  the 
purpose  of  maintaining  discipline  and  pursuing  a  similar  strategy  more 
selectively,  with  direction  from  above.  The  potential  for  v iolence  is  an 
inherent  feature  of  police  as  an  institution.  The  actual  uses  of  this  violence 
will  depend  largely  on  who  has  power  ov er  this  institution,  and  who  has 
power  within  it. 

To  summarize:  there  is  neither  antagonism  nor  competition  between 
the  Good  Cop  and  the  Bad  Cop;  they  are.  instead,  each  part  of  a  single 
strategy.  And  this  remains  true,  although  each  was  developed 
independently  or  in  response  to  the  shortcomings  of  the  other.  Likewise, 
community  policing  and  militarization  are  not  in  conflict;  each  represents 
one  aspect  of  the  broader  process  of  modernizing  the  police  force. 

In  the  United  States,  the  militarization  of  the  police  was  issued  in 
the  development  of  the  negotiated  management  model,  but  this  was 
contingent  upon  the  simultaneous  strategy  of  institutionalizing  protest. 
Demonstrations  were  granted  some  degree  of  legitimacy,  and  therefore 
came  to  be  carefully  managed  rather  than  simply  bullied  about.  The 
elements  of  control  remained  in  place,  though  in  a  more  subtle,  and 
more  insidious,  form.  But  this  arrangement  proved  fragile.  When  the 
institutional  framework  of  protest  was  challenged,  as  with  the  WTO.  the 
negotiated  management  model  was  also  undemiined. 

Democratic  National  Convention— Then  and  Now 

It  may  be  useful  in  assessing  the  current  state  of  police  strategy  to  examine 
a  recent  police  action,  in  comparison  to  a  relevantly  similar  historical 
predecessor.  History  has  been  kind  enough  to  provide  us  with  two  such 
subjects  for  comparison — the  1968  Democratic  National  Convention  in 
Chicago  and  the  2000  Democratic  National  Conv  cntion  in  Los  Angeles. 
The  behavior  of  Chicago  police  at  the  1968  Democratic  National 
Convention  shocked  the  nation.  Television  cameras  showed  mobs  of 
police  ruthlessly  and  indiscriminately  beating  demonstrators,  bystanders 
and  members  of  the  media.  Senator  Abraham  Ribicoff  spoke  out  on  the 
fioor  of  convention  against  the  "Gestapo  tactics  in  the  streets  of  Chicago" 


(Mailer  179).  George  McGovem  described  the  scene  as  a  "blood  bath." 
also  making  comparisons  to  "Nazi  Germany"  (Mailer  177). 

The  melee  scared  the  hell  out  of  the  Democratic  politicians.  "What 
staggered  the  delegates  who  witnessed  the  attack — more  accurate  to  call 
it  the  massacre,  since  it  was  sudden,  unprov  oked.  and  total — on  Michigan 
Avenue,  was  that  it  opened  the  specter  of  what  it  might  mean  for  the 
police  to  take  over  society.  They  might  comport  themselves  in  such  a 
case  not  as  a  force  of  law  and  order,  not  even  as  a  force  of  repression 
upon  civ  il  disorder,  but  as  a  true  criminal  force;  chaotic,  improvisational. 
undisciplined,  and  finally — sufficiently  aroused — uncontrollable" 
(Mailer  175).  Such  apprehension,  surely,  gave  the  civil  authorities  strong 
reasons  to  change  the  police  approach  to  demonstrations,  and  to  re- 
structure police  agencies  as  a  whole. 

Thirty-two  years  later,  the  DNC  was  again  the  target  of  sizable 
demonstrations.  Considering  the  current  international  wave  of  protests, 
comparisons  to  1 968  were  to  be  expected  of  course,  though  the  differences 
may  be  more  instructive  than  the  similarities.  Two  incidents  from  the 
2000  DNC  suffice  to  make  the  case. 

On  .August  14.  after  a  concert  in  one  of  the  designated  protest  areas, 
police  cut  power  to  the  stage,  declared  the  event  an  unlawful  assembly 
and  gave  approximately  10,000  people  20  minutes  to  disperse  through  a 
single  exit.  A  short  time  later,  the  cops  attacked,  charging  with  horses 
and  firing  aibber  bullets.  The  LA  Times  reported  that  "In  addition  to 
rubber  bullets,  police  also  used  pepper  spray  and  projectile  beanbags. 
striking  many  of  the  protesters  and  some  bystanders  as  they  fired 
indiscriminately  for  more  than  an  hour"  (Daunt  and  Rivera).  Jesse  Jackson 
characterized  the  police  action  as  "unnecessary  brtitality"  while  Police 
Commander  David  Kalish  called  it  "a  measured,  strategic  response" 
(Breznican).  They  may  both  be  right.  The  ACLU  described  the  event 
precisely,  referring  to  it  as  "an  orchestrated  police  riot"  (Lee  25). 

A  few  days  later,  the  cops  showed  a  different  face  when  37  people 
sat  down  in  front  of  the  notorious  Ramparts  Div  ision  police  station  and 
refused  to  leave.  "The  civ  il  disobedience  action.  .  .  attempted  to  focus 
on  the  brutality,  corruption,  and  violence  of  the  LAPD.  .  .  However, 
some  of  the  organizers  had  collaborated  closely  with  the  Ramparts  police 
prior  to  the  action  to  work  out  the  details  of  the  arrests,  and  had  followed 
some  suggestions  of  the  police  in  order  to  avoid  what  they  feared  would 
be  the  cops  going  berserk  if  taken  by  surprise.  After  presenting  the  police 
chief  with  a  list  of  demands,  one  of  the  arrestees  shook  hands  amicably 
with  him  as  the  cameras  Hashed.  Ironically,  the  result  was  a  PR  media 
opportunity  to  showcase  the  civ  ility  and  non-v  iolent  behav  ior  of  the  cops" 
(Lee  25).  This  incident  shows  the  effective  neutralization  of  protest  when 
it  proceeds  through  collaborative  channels.  It  also  shows  the  disciplining 
effect  of  police  violence  in  motivating  protesters  to  negotiate  ahead  of 
time,  and  allowing  the  cops  to  set  the  rules.  Terrorism  and  co-optation 
are  thus  subsumed  under  a  single  system. 

If  this  case  is  any  indication,  it  would  seem  that  the  biggest  change 
since  1968  has  been  the  mode  of  organization  within  police  departments. 
Police  otTicials  have  gained  the  ability  to  restrain  officers  when  a  Good 
Cop  approach  is  in  order.  This  has.  until  recently,  encouraged  a  change 
in  the  nature  of  protest,  de-emphasizing  the  radical  or  antagonistic  aspects 
of  the  activity  in  favor  of  a  routine  and  collaborativ  e  approach.  The  role 
of  the  police  has  not  changed,  but  the  range  of  their  tactics  has.  What  we 
saw  in  L.A.  was  something  we  should  learn  to  expect:  the  strategic  use 
of  both  the  Good  Cop  and  the  Bad  Cop  to  control  and  ultimately  neutralize 
dissent.  -^ 

References 

Breznican.  .'\nthony.  "More  protests  planned  at  con\ention"  Associated  Press. 

.Xugust  15.2000. 
della  Porta.  Donatella  and  Herbert  Reiter.  "Introduction:  The  Policing  of 

Protest  in  Western  Democracies."  Policing  Proiesi:  The  Control  of 

Mass  Dcmonsuations  in  Western  Deinocracies.  Donatella  della  Porta  and 
Herben  Reiter.  Minneapolis:  University  of  Minnesota  Press.  I9')8.  \-}2. 
della  Porta,  Donatella  and  Herben  Reiter.  Policing  Protest:  The  Control  ol  Mass 

Demonstrations  in  Western  Democracies.  Minneapolis:  University  of  Minnesota  Press, 

1998. 
Duant.  Tina.  "Council  atTimis  rights  of  protesters."  Los  Angeles  Times. 
August  1 2.  2000. 
Duant.  Tina  and  Carta  Rivera.  "Police  forcefully  break  up  melee  after  concert"  Los  .4ngeles 

TTmt's.  .August  15.  2000 


/('A  .     .  uiiiued  from  previous  page) 

Mrnc/'.r.  Clark.  The  Seattle  Police  Deparlmenl  After  Action  Report: 
llorld  Trade  Organization  Ministerial  Conference,  Seattle 
Washington.  November  29- December  3.  IW9.  Seattle  Police 
Department,  .^pril  4,  2000. 

1  oc.  Belle.  "L.A.  protests:  moving  beyond  Seattle  victory."  Portland 
,-l//(i»i<£'  ()ctober2000.  6.  25. 

Mailer.  Norman.  Miami  and  the  Siege  of  Chicago:  And  Informal  Histor}' 
of  the  Republican  and  Democratic  Conventions  oj  1968.  New 
York;  The  World  Publishing  Company.  1968. 

McPhail.  el  al.  "Policini;  Protest  m  the  United  Slates:  1960-1995." 

Policing  Protest:  I'hc  Control  of  Mass  Demonstrations  in  H'estcrn 
Democracies.  Donatella  della  Porta  and  Herbert  Reiler 
Minneapolis:  University  of  Minnesota  Press,  1998.  49-69. 

National  Advisory  Commission  on  Civil  Disorders.  Report  of  the 

Sational  .Advisor)-  Commission  on  Civil  Disorders.  Chair:  Otto 
Kemer  (New  York:  Dulton.  1968.1 

National  Commission  on  the  Causes  and  Prevention  of  Violence.  To 
Establish  Justice.  To  Insure  Domestic  Tranijuility:  Pinal  Report 
of  the  National  Commission  on  the  Causes  and  Prevention  of 
Holence.  Chair:  Milton  S.  Eisenhower.  Washington  DC:  U.S. 
Government  Printing  OITice.  1 969. 

Richmond,  Paul.  Bringing  an  Undemocratic  Institution  Brings  an 
Undemocralic  Response:  Draft  Report  on  the  Level  of 
Paramililary  Response  and  Loss  o/  Democratic  Rights  During 
the  Seattle  Round  of  the  H'orld  Trade  Organizuiion  Minislerial. 
Seattle  Chapter  of  the  National  Lawyers  Guild,  WTO  Legal 
Group.  2000.  (unpaged) 

R  M.  Met  arthy  and  Associates.  An  Independent  Review  of  the  World 
Trade  Oiganization  Conference  Disruptions  in  Seattle. 
Washington  November  29-December  3.  1999.  San  Clemente,  Ca; 

R.M. McCarthy  and  Associates.  July  2000. 

U.S.  President's  Commission  on  Campus  Unrest.  The  Report  of  the 
President's  Commission  on  Campus  Unrest.  Chair:  William  W 
Scranlon.  Washington  DC:  U.S.  Government  Printing  OITicc, 
1970. 

Waddington.  P.\  J.  "Controlling  Protest  in  Contemporary  Historical 
and  Comparative  Perspective."  Policing  Protest:  The  Control  of 
Mass    Demonstrations  in  Western  fiemocracies.  Donatella  della 
Porta  and  Herbert  Reiter.  Minneapolis:  University  of  Minnesota 
Press  1998.  117-140. 

Walker,  Daniel.  Rights  in  Conflict:  Chicago  ,v  7  Brutal  Days.  New  York: 
Grosset  and  Dunlap,  1968. 

WTO  Accountability  Committee.  Report  of  the  WTO  Accountability 
Review  Committee.  Scaillc  Cit}-  Council.  September  14,  2000 


Anticipation  &  Preparation: 

by  Kerry  Levenberg 


Days  of  War  i\ights  of  Love  : 
Crimethink  for  Bej^inners 

Less  a  tiovel  than  an  exploded 
manircsto.  Days  of  War.  Nights  of  Love 
might  be  just  what  we  need.  Il  certainly 
"■^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  saved  my  night  when  I  picked  il  up.  I  was 
expctlinu  an  eveiiinj;  unVen/ied  screanio  music  al  the  show  (which  I  got 
plus  some  tiicc  dialogue),  but  the  merchandise  table  housed  the  real  in- 
cendiary items. 

Days  of  War  is  the  type  of  book  you'd  thumb  through  in  the  store 
and  actually  decide  to  buy  (or  steal).  Avoiding  what  lapsed  grad  student 
Phil  refers  to  as  "the  thin  gruel  ofnarralive,"  the  book  instead  gleeliilly  mashes 
appropriated  art  pieces  w  ith  personal  testimony.  Reconfigured  Frank  Miller  comic 
panels  shout  "Face  it,  your  politics  are  boring  as  fuck!"  Whether  you  agree  or 
not,  there's  a  refreshing  ijiialily  to  a  book  that  olTcrs  the  same  amount  of  infor- 
mation to  both  the  serious  reader  and  casual  browser,  because  despite  steady 
sales  of  The  Revnliilion  of  l-vciydov  life  and  Nation  of  Ulysses  I'Ds,  most  of  us 
arc  still  living  lives  that  are  fnistratingly  incomplete 

The  past  four  centuries  are  all  fotldcr  for  this  new  manifesto  evervthing 
from  the  IJnabomber  to  the  Smiths,  llcnrv  Miller  to  the  (ierman  J2M  move- 


tnent,  Kalahain  bushmen  to  Natural  Born  Killers -finds  its  way  onto  the  pages. 
Such  voracious  stealing  from  history  and  applying  as  needed  becomes  not  just  a 
practice,  but  a  saving  grace.  By  never  labeling  themselves  punks  or  new  Dadaists 
and  instead  stealing  all  manner  of  praxis  and  pranks,  Criinelhlnc  remains  elusive, 
avoiding  the  pitfalls  that  toppled  prcv  ious  revolutionaries.  Bclov  ed  nihilistic  comic 
characters  Milk  &  Cheese  re-emerge  as  Soy  Milk  &  Tofu  to  olVer  shoplilling  as  the 
tnie  antidote  to  capitalism.  The  bcuik  is  simultaneously  longue-in-cheek  and  as 
serious  as  getting  up  in  the  ntoming  for  work,  yet  avoids  the  inherent  alienation  cf 
most  historical  and  cultural  texts  (whose  authors  they  dismiss  as  "careerist 
historici/ers"). 

Topics  range  from  anarchy  to  hierarchy,  work  to  sex.  alienation  to  liberation 
and  technology,  but  every  page  bums  with  a  passion  for  a  freer  life.  Lies,  exag- 
gerations and  blatant  plagiarisms  mix  freely  with  passionate  argumenLs.  Nadia 
admits  on  p.  171  that  this  may  all  "sound  like  anarcho-mystical  academic  non- 
sense (which  it  /.v.  of  course  freedom  cannot  be  understood  except  through  mys- 
ticism!)." but  the  Crimethinc  v^orkers  do  weave  a  giH>d  spell.  Who  disputes  ob\  i- 
oiis  but  unvoiced  concerns  like,  "We  pay  rent  before  we  live  there  a  month.  But  we 
get  paid  1-4  weeks  after  doing  the  vvork.'".'  Other  essays  walk  a  precarious  line 
between  aiTogant  and  inspiring:  activ  isis  are  taken  to  task  for  being  dull  and  guilty; 
r.idicals  and  artists  as  excrement  |>cddlers,  forever  squirreling  moments  away  for 
their  next  prixiuct.  Too  harsh?  Or  a  necessary  critique'' 


These  first  days  were  hectic. 
Activists  were  constantly  arriving  at 
the  convergence  space,  trying  to  plug 
into  the  week's  actions.  Every  effort 
was  given  to  prepare  us  for  the  com- 
ing weeic.  I  attended  workshops  where 
I  learned  skills  I  could  use  during  civil 
disobedience,  after  arrest,  during  or- 
ganizing meetings,  when  confronted 
by  the  media,  and  on  and  on. 

We  organized  in  aflfmity  groups, 
small  groups  who  know  each  other  and 
ideally  have  the  same  goals  and  tacti- 
cal limitations  (willing  to  risk  arrest? 
wish  to  participate  in  theater?  in  plan- 
ning? in  puppet  making?).  It's  dan- 
gerous on  the  streets,  and  you  are  bet- 
ter otTin  a  small  group  where  you  can 
take  care  of  each  other  should  some 
get  arrested,  or  attacked  by  the  police, 
or  overcome  with  tear  gas.  My  affin- 
ity group  includes  five  friends  from 
San  Francisco  Food  Not  Bombs  and 
three  of  their  friends.  Seven  have  ex- 
perience from  either  Seattle  or  Wash- 
ington DC,  or  both.  1  have  none.  We 


1  Weekend  Journal  from  LA  Protests  at  the  DNC 


call  ourselves  the  Green  Hornets. 

If  we  get  arrested,  one  form  of  non-cooperation  is  not  to  give  our 
names.  That  makes  the  process  more  difficult  for  the  police  and  gives  us 
additional  leverage  in  our  negotiations.  On  the  other  hand,  we  need  a 
way  for  outside  support  to  identify  us  so  that  our  families  and  employers 
can  be  notified.  So  v\  e  adopt  code  names.   My  code  name:  Special  K. 

The  general  planning  meetings  have  been  both  empowering  and  frus- 
trating. They  are  run  as  spokes  councils.  While  anyone  can  attend  these 
meetings,  only  one  representative  from  each  affinity  group  may  partici- 
pate. The  meetings  are  run  by  consensus,  a  particularly  ciiallenging  method 
of  decision  making.  After  the  spokes,  we  would  break  otT  into  cluster 
groups,  which  would  plan  the  details  of  specific  actions. 

Early  tensions  arose  in  response  to  the  extent  of  the  planning  done 
before  the  first  spokes  meeting,  though  I  thought  it  necessary.  In  order  to 
grow  the  progressive  movement  and  broaden  our  analysis  of  the  issues. 


organizers  worked  with  local  community  groups,  strengthening  overall 
solidarity  and  deepening  our  understanding  of  how  national  and  interna- 
tional problems  affect  us  locally.  Groundwork  for  such  cooperation  had 
to  be  done  well  in  advance. 

Other  tensions  stemmed  from  the  distrust  between  organizers  of  the 
Direct  Action  Network  (one  of  the  major  organizers  of  the  events  down 
here,  part  of  the  D2KLA  coalition)  and  the  Black  Block.  The  Black  Block 
are  mainly  young,  white  activists  with  anarchist  political  leanings,  though 
far  from  the  only  anarchists  represented  here.  I  am  one  myself  The 
Black  Block  became  famous  by  breaking  windows  in  Seattle — consis- 
tently portrayed  in  the  media  as  "violent."  I  believe  the  distrust  here  to  be 
media  driven  as  some  activists  bought  into  the  media  spin  on  the  Black 
Block  before  actually  working  with  them.  Personally,  I  have  found  the 
Black  Block's  aggressiveness  alienating  and  to  look  particularly  bad  in 
the  media,  but  generally  they  have  been  cooperative,  even  creative  par- 
ticipants this  week,  and  I  have  appreciated  their  presence.  We  need  to 
make  space  for  everyone  with  the  same  basic  vision,  even  if  their  tactics 
are  different. 

Everything  was  prepared  for  Monday.  We  were  hoping  for  a  peace- 
ful day.  The  police,  though,  had  other  plans. 

Notes  on  police  intimidation: 

As  1  write,  the  police  have  surrounded  the  building. 
I've  just  learned  that  150  police  in  riot  gear  plus  three  dozen  motor- 
cycle cops  had  been  called  in  for  one  jaywalking  activist.   Jaywalking. 
The  police  described  the  event  as  "a  routine  traffic  stop."  I  have  already 

witnessed  police 
targeting  activists 
for     jaywalking, 
closing  in  with  mul- 
tiple cars,  sirens  flashing.  The  riot  police,  though,  was  something  new. 
An  injunction  against  the  police  was  won  by  documenting  early  in- 
timidation, including  harassment  and  false  arrests.    The  point,  though, 
isn't  to  keep  us  in  jail.  It's  to  create  a  climate  of  fear. 

The  LAPD  have  dealt  with  the  injunction  by  bringing  in  the  Califor- 
nia Highway  Patrol  and  the  helicopters.  The  helicopters  make  every  march 
and  occasionally  the  convergence  center  seem  like  we  are  under  military 
siege.  The  CHiPs.  driving  by  the  convergence  center  every  couple  min- 
utes, are  out  of  their  jurisdiction,  being  miles  from  a  highway. 

The  police  also  have  made  creative  use  of  bomb  threats  to  enter  and 
shut  down  various  spaces,  the  most  egregious  being  the  Independent  Media 
Center.  Here,  the  police  shut  down  the  satellite  feed  of  a  live  broadcast, 
yet  were  not  concerned  enough  to  evacuate  the  area. 

It  seems  the  law  matters  little  to  its  enforcers,  unless  the  public  is 
watching  closely. 

(continued  on  next  page) 


The  book's  vehement  insistence  that  living  is  more  important  than  art  carries 
the  argument  beyond  typical  debate.  If  you  make  it  to  the  end,  the  personal  testi- 
monials about  not  working  and  closing  art  pieces  become  an  aria  of  voices  urging 
you  to  close  the  book  and  live.  Glorious,  even  for  the  most  cynical  reader.  What 
more  can  we  ask  from  books?  Whether  or  not  you  buy  it  probably  depends  on  what 
you  think  of  that  last  Refused  LP  -  revolutionary  cannibals  or  well-dressed  po- 
seurs? Well-read  fonner  straight-edge  kids  or  new  messiahs:"  Don't  think  too  hard 
about  it  -  the  book  warns  from  page  one,  "This  book  will  not  save  your  life;  that, 
my  friend,  is  up  lo you."' 
-  Travis  Fristoe. 

$8  postpaid  from  Chmethlnc.  HQ  /  2695  Rangewood  Dr.  /  Atlanla.  GA  30345 
vvmv.  crimethinc.  com 


Evasion  :Travel  Crime 

Those  needing  a  more  literal  corollary  of  the  Crimethinc  lifest>'le  should 
pick  up  Evasion  zine,  one  man's  travelogue  of  thiever>  and  trespassing  across 
these  United  States.  Wliat  if  straight-edge  took  a  radically  political  turn-rejecting 
not  just  the  leisure  drugs  of  smoking,  drinking  &  sex.  but  other  core  American 


values  like  working  and  consumerism?  An  evolutionary  possibility  as  explosive 
as  the  Planet  of  the  /^pes!  Evasion's  first-person  testimonial  illustrates  just  such 
an  evolution  as  he  shoplifts,  hops  trains  and  hitchhikes  across  America.  The  jour- 
ney provides  a  literal  and  metaphorical  sei2aire  of  our  life  and  country.  The  very 
first  page  explains  that  his  is  "a  path  not  to  be  mistaken  for  'poverty  is  punk' 
posturing,  it's  about  taking  back  your  life."  Sure,  go  to  corporate  health  food 
stores  and  get  the  precious  vegan  snacks,  but  "left-hand  "  all  but  the  cheapest 
bagel.  His  targets  (Barnes  &  Noble,  hotel  pools,  movie  theaters,  closed  libraries) 
are  all  worthy  and  familiar  ones.  Imagine  further  a  world  where  the  proclama- 
tions fi'om  80s  hardcore  were  rallying  cries  instead  of  ironic  w  itticisms  at  the 
local  pub.  The  obvious  reference  would  be  SCAM  zinc,  which  the  Evasion  editor 
lovingly  refers  to  hvice,  but  Evasion  is  solely  a  solipsistic  exercise.  You  won't 
find  the  inter\'iews  and  community  activism  that  make  .SCAM  the  mythic  tome  it 
is,  but  Evasion  still  beautifully  delivers  the  exhilaration  of  a  good  scam. 
-  Travis  Fristoe. 

$2  postpaid  from  Crimethinc.  HO  ■'  2695  Rangewood  Dr  /Atlanta.  GA  30345 

www.  chmethinc.  com 

$2  SCAM  c/o  NO!  Records  / PO  Bo.x  J 4008  / Berkeley.  CA  94712 


M      .y:  Police  Riot.  Journal  for  August  14 

.At  9:00  am.  ii  was  alrcadv  liul.  Thousands  ot'prolcstcrs  had  gath- 
ered to  draw  attention  to  Gore's  ties  with  Occidental  Petroleum.  Occi- 
dental wants  to  drill  i>n  the  ancestral  land  ofthe  Ij'vva  peoples  in  C'olum- 
bia.  which  will  render  that  land  more  or  less  uninhabitable.  The  connec- 
tion ofthe  U'wa  to  their  land  is  so  important  to  their  way  of  life,  that 
they  have  threatened  to  commit  eollccti\e  suicide  should  Occidental 
proceed  with  drilling. 

(jore  has  family  and  financial  ties  to  Occidental,  though  I  belie\e 
the  corporation's  intluence  over  Gore  to  be  more  mundane:  Occidental 
is  a  major  donor  to  Gore's  reelection  campaign  and  the  Democratic  party. 
Gore  has  a  pulpit  from  which  a  few  words  on  this  issue  could  bring 
enormous  pressure  on  the  company,  and  the  marchers  were  demanding 
that  (iore  use  it  to  tr>  to  stop  this  tragedy. 

The  action  began  v\  ith  a  rally.  The  speakers  were  good,  but  one 
was  missing.  TheChiefof  the  U'wa  people  was  supposed  to  speak.  He 
was  denied  a  \isa,  another  reminder  of  our  go\cmmcnt"s  \iews  on  free 
speech. 

When  the  inarch  began,  the  puppets  led  the  uay.  Ten  to  fifteen  feet 
high,  sometimes  as  wide  as  a  four  lane  road,  these  puppets  offer  visibil- 
ity to  the  issues,  attracting  onlookers  and  the  media.  No  wonder  the 
authorities  made  such  a  concerted  effort  to  confiscate  them  in  Washing- 
ton and  Philadelphia,  [.ining  the  streets  on  both  sides  ofthe  march  were 
hundreds  of  police  full  riot  gear,  gas  guns,  truncheons,  rifles  -  but  the 
mood  was  so  good,  the  procession  so  peaceful,  I  couldn't  fathom  that 

something  might  go  wrong. 
It  did. 

The  police  forced 
protesters  off  the  sidewalks, 
increasing  tensions.  Then  1 
w  itncssed  the  following: 

One  officer  reached 
out  and  from  behind  a  protester 
and  grabbed  his  sign.  1  saw 
nothing  to  precipitate  this  act. 
The  bewildered  protester,  who 
didn't  sec  what  happened,  held 
on.  Then  the  cop  pulled  the 
sign  from  his  hand  with  enough 
force  to  break  the  handle.  The 
protester,  stumbling  back- 
wards, might  ha\e  touched  the 
cop,  and  instantly  there  were 
police  ail  over  him,  beating  him 
with  truncheons.  Within  sec- 
onds, he  was  on  the  ground, 
face  dow  n.  one  cop  standing  on 
his  neck,  another  standing  t>n 
his  back,  a  circle  of  police 
around  him,  truncheons  out. 
He  was  in  obvious  pain.  He 
was  not  resisting. 

The  protesters  scat- 
tered. I  saw  Reyna,  one  of  my 
alllnity  group  members,  crawl- 
ing out  toward  the  circle  on  her 
hands  and  knees,  alone.  cr%  ing. 
begging  them  to  stop  hurting 
him.    Three  of  us  went  to  get 
lid.    1  he  rest  of  us  regrouped.    I  he  police  uere  telling  everyone  to  back 
otT,  and  Reyna,  on  her  knees,  pleading,  was  struck  in  the  back  of  the 
head  with  a  truncheon.    Ihen  m\  fneiuls  got  her  out. 

We  were  split.  The  police  had  cut  the  march  in  two  and  then  charged, 
intending  to  create  a  panic  (which  worked).  The  remaining  members  of 
m\  atVinity  group  thought  those  who  went  to  help  Reyna  were  now  be- 
hind police  lines,  possibly  arrested.  It  was  hard  to  sec  anything.  Min- 
utes later,  as  things  began  to  calm.'  we  found  them     Rc\na  was  badl> 


Riot  police  moved 
in  with  tear  gas, 
and  mounted 
units  charged, 
trampHng  activ- 
ists.    Eventually, 
they  pushed  the 
crowd  out  of  the 
protest  area — 
right  into  another 
permitted  march 
that  was  just 
arriving  at  the 
convention  center, 
causing  much 
confusion.    The 
police  were  firing 
rubber  bullets  and 
bean-bag  guns. 


shaken,  but  not  seriously  injured.  The  Green  Hornets  would  become 
more  conscious  of  sticking  together  and  keeping  track  of  each  other. 
ha\  ing  learned  a  hard  lesson. 

The  march  continued  to  the  Staples  Center,  where  the  Democratic 
convention  was  taking  place.  Our  "protest  pit"  was  visible  from  one 
side  of  the  Center,  though  physically  isolated  from  it.  Still,  the  city 
originally  wanted  the  protest  area  to  be  out  of  sight.  The  ACLU  man- 
aged to  get  that  changed.  Our  rights  are  never  ours  by  default.  They 
aren't  given  to  us  by  our  government.  They  aren't  always  protected, 
particularly  for  the  poor,  the  working  class,  communities  of  color,  im- 
migrants, women,  queers,  the  disabled,  the  elderly.  In  other  words,  tor 
most  people.  We  have  to  demand  our  rights,  and  then  defend  them. 

That  evening  was  the  "Human  Need,  Not  Corporate  Greed"  march, 
focusing  on  corporate  crime  and  corruption  of  our  political  system.  It 
was  large,  more  than  10.000  people.  It  would  also  end  at  the  Staples 
Center,  w  here  after  a  few  speakers.  Rage  Against  the  Machine  was  sched- 
uled to  play.  The  crowd  swelled. 

I  left  in  the  middle  of  their  set,  the  luckiest  of  decisions. 

Witnesses  tell  me  that  after  Rage  played,  some  ofthe  Black  Block 
defied  the  police  by  scaling  one  ofthe  fences  to  place  banners  and  flags 
in  a  place  visible  from  the  con\  ention.  Some  were  throw  ing  trash  at  the 
police.  The  police  responded  with  pepper  spray.  The  crowd  separated 
from  those  confronting  the  police.  There  was  a  lot  of  anger  in  that  iso- 
lated group,  an  understandable  response  to  being  attacked  with  chemi- 
cal weapons  for  climbing  a  fence.  The  police,  rather  than  focus  on  those 
confronting  them,  took  to  the  stage,  and  gave  the  entire  crowd  15  min- 
utes to  clear.  Most  in  the  crowd  had  no  idea  w hy.  Not  everyone  made 
it  out. 

Riot  police  moved  in  with  tear  gas.  and  inounted  units  charged, 
trampling  activists.  Eventually,  they  pushed  the  crowd  out  ofthe  protest 
area —  right  into  another  permitted  march  that  was  just  arriving  at  the 
convention  center,  causing  much  confusion.  The  police  were  tiring  rub- 
ber bullets  and  bean-bag  guns.  Most  ofthe  casualties  were  injured  in 
the  back,  striking  protesters  complying  w  ith  police  orders  to  lea\e.  The 
■ACLU  claims  that  the  police  targeted  journalists  and  legal  observers 
and  ha\e  since  filed  suit. 

1  was  back  at  the  convergence  center  when  I  heard  the  news.  I 
joined  an  effort  to  prepare  the  building  for  the  coming  casualties,  turn- 
ing the  entire  first  floor  into  an  emergency  clinic.  There  was  a  lot  of 
fear.  Building  security  tightened  in  preparation  for  a  possible  police 
raid.  .All  night,  police  helicopters  buzzed  the  building,  shining  their  spot- 
liiihts,  but  the  raid  ne\er  came. 


Tuesday:    Get  on  the  Bus  Notes,  on  August  15 

We  woke  up  late  and  decided  to  split  up.  some  of  us  wanting  to 
catch  up  w  ith  the  morning  action  on  the  underv  aluing  of  women's  work, 
the  impact  of  w elfare  refomi.  and  for  li\  ing  wages.  1  decided  that  I 
needed  breakfast,  not  ha\  ing  eaten  on  Monday. 

The  Green  Hornets  regrouped  for  the  Bus  Riders  Union  march. 
The  Bus  Riders  Union  (BRU)  is  an  organization  ba.sed  in  working  class 
communities  and  communities  of  color.  These  communities  are  not  re- 
cci\ing  their  fair  share  of  transportation  funding,  resulting  in  a  crum- 
bling bus  system  and  insufllcient  serv  ices.  In  contrast,  the  subway  line, 
which  serves  fewer  people,  is  Hush  w ith  cash.  The  BRU  is  demanding 
the  MTA  implement  a  federal  consent  decree  by  buying  1 000  new  buses 
at  one  billion  dollars.  Sound  like  a  lot  of  moncN '.*  It  is.  but  billions  are 
ahead)  being  spent  on  public  transportation.  It's  just  that  communities 
of  color  see  little  of  it. 

1  was  really  impressed  with  this  march.  The  MTA  is  a  textbook 
example  of  how  racism  and  classism  are  perpetuated  through  our  insti- 
tutions. Though  a  "local"  issue,  it  clearly  exemplifies  a  national  issue. 
There  are  similar  problems  in  San  Krancisco  (B.XRT's  billions  \  s.  Muni's 
millions,  yet  Muni  serves  so  many  more  people,  mostly  working  class 
and  coinmunities  of  color,  while  B.XRT  primarily  serv  es  pri\  ileged  w  hitc 
suburbs).  But  1  could  just  as  easily  look  bevond  transportation:  W  hich 
communities  gel  loans'.'  W  hieh  communities  get  polluted .'  \\  inch  com- 


munities  have  decent  educational  systems?  And  on  and  on. 

The  organizers  reflected  the  communities  most  affected:  people  of 
color,  youth,  the  working  class,  the  disabled.  Thousands  turned  out  in  a 
great  show  of  solidarity.  The  predominant  language  was  Spanish,  in 
chants  and  among  the  speakers.  Youth  organizers  had  made  dozens  of 
drums  out  of  plastic  buckets  and  passed  them  out  to  the  crowd.  The 
speakers  discussed  racism  and  classism  as  institutional  problems,  mak- 
ing links  to  the  criminal  justice  system  and  U.S.  imperialism.  They 
made  clear  that  on  the  issue  of  transportation,  the  Democrats  and  the 
Republicans  were  exactly  the  same  in  their  unwillingness  to  take  action. 

Tuesday  night  was  the  Queers  and  Allies  march.  Issues  included 
affordable  AIDS  drugs,  visibility,  and  hate.  It  was  the  first  time  the 
Green  Hornets  worked  together  on  a  project,  playing  a  major  role  in 
security  and  monitoring  for  the  march.  Our  responsibilities  included 
keeping  the  march  moving  at  a  reasonable  pace  and  in  the  right  direc- 
tion, acting  as  a  barrier  beuveen  the  police  and  the  protesters,  scouting 
ahead,  and  passing  information  up  and  down  the  sides  of  the  march. 
The  responsibility  was  serious,  as  there  were  many  participants  in  the 
march  at  great  risk  if  they  were  to  get  arrested,  particularly  transgenders. 

One  of  the  Hornets,  Chris  Crass,  played  a  key  role  in  mediating 
between  the  Black  Block  and  the  march  organizers.  There  was  a  lot  of 
distrust.  Some  of  the  march  organizers  initially  didn't  want  to  let  the 
Black  Block  participate,  an  authoritarian  mo\e  that  would  likely  ha\e 
divided  the  march.  The  mediation  worked,  and  we  marched  together. 

The  march  began  with  a  kiss-in  and  ended  with  a  die-in:  hundreds 
lying  down  in  an  intersection,  their  bodies  outlined  with  chalk.  There 
were  some  tense  moments  when  the  police  surrounded  us,  cutting  otTall 
exits.  It  was  an  attempt  at  intimidation,  with  some  success.  It  was  also 
an  attempt  to  draw  a  response,  but  the  crowd  would  not  be  baited. 

One  of  the  great  things  to  come  out  of  the  Queers  and  Allies  march 
was  the  coalition  of  organizers.  In  L.A.,  queers,  lesbians,  trans-gender 
groups,  Act-Up,  etc.,  never  worked  all  together  on  common  projects. 
This  was  the  biggest  such  march  to  happen  in  L..'\..  and  the  coalition 
intends  to  work  together  further  I  felt  enormous  .satisfaction  playing  a 
role  in  the  solidarity  needed  to  make  it  happen. 

The  Green  Hornets  were  a  bit  too  spread  out  along  the  march.  Those 
at  the  end  of  the  march  felt  unsafe  around  so  many  cops  and  so  few 
marchers.  After  the  action,  we  spent  some  time  strategizing  on  how  to 
remain  a  tight  unit.  We  also  debriefed  and  vented.  One  of  the  great 
things  about  working  as  group  is  you  can  share  immediate  feedback,  ask 
questions,  learn  new  information,  or  ju.st  let  loose. 

We  were  getting  closer  as  a  group. 


Wednesday:  Protesting  the  Police  with  a  Police  Escort. 
Journal  for  August  16 

Wednesday  morning  we  marched  on  Ramparts  district  station,  where 
police  are  being  investigated  for  murder,  planting  weapons,  brutality, 
falsifying  evidence,  perjur\',  and  using  the  INS  as  a  weapon  against  wit- 
nesses to  their  corruption.  Ramparts  is  a  real  problem.  It  is  also  a  sym- 
bol of  a  national  disgrace,  where  police  corruption  and  brutality  is  over- 
whelmingly invisible:  the  victims  overwhelmingly  people  of  color 

I  participated  in  organizing  the  Ramparts  action  in  the  cluster  meet- 
ings. The  Green  Hornets  volunteered  to  do  security  and  monitoring.  I 
helped  word  the  demands  that  were  to  be  given  to  the  mayor  and  chief 
of  police. 

The  demands: 

—  that  all  civil  suits  brought  against  Ramparts  would  be  paid  for 
out  of  the  police  budget  rather  than  general  city  revenues. 

—  that  the  city  create  an  independent  civilian  police  review  board 

—  an  end  to  INS-poIice  cooperation 

—  freedom  for  Alex  Sanchez,  an  organizer  who  testified  about  Ram- 
parts corruption,  and  was  subsequently  arrested  and  handed  over  to  the 
INS. 

When  we  arrived  at  Mac  Arthur  Park  to  start  the  action,  the  sun's 
heat  was  already  oppressive.  When  the  march  began,  the  Green  Hornets 


clustered  together  on  one  side  to  better  watch  out  for  each  other.  Chant- 
ing loudly  in  English  and  Spanish,  spirits  were  high  for  the  long  march. 
The  neighborhood  we  marched  through  was  mostly  Salvadoran  immi- 
grants. Mostly  families.  If  things  got  out  of  hand,  many  in  the  neigh- 
borhood were  at  risk — they  could  be  deported  if  caught  in  a  police  sweep. 

In  front  of  Ramparts  station,  the  police  were  out  in  force:  on  bikes, 
on  motorcycles,  in  armor,  many  carrying  tear  gas  canisters  and  rifles 
( maybe  nibber  bullets,  maybe  the  new  paint  ball  guns  w ith  pepper  spray 
ammunition).  We  kept  oursehes  between  the  police  and  the  protesters. 
The  only  people  who  didn't  respect  our  requests  to  stay  back  were  the 
media,  who  were  almost  charged  by  the  cops  for  trying  to  break  through 
their  line,  and  a  nutcase  in  loud  green  shorts — a  lone  counter-protester — 
who  the  police  would  detain.  Though  thirty-eight  demonstrators  were 
arrested  for  blocking  the  station  entrance,  the  demonstration  remained 
peaceful. 

After  the  march,  some  of  us  went  to  eat  at  a  worker-owned  cafe. 
The  food  was  good  but  it  took  them  almost  two  hours  to  make  my  sand- 
wich. I  was  exhausted  and  slept  briefly  at  the  table.  The  week's  pace 
was  catching  up  with  me. 

That  night  we  relaxed,  eating  Thai  food  and  staying  up  late  playing 
a  game  of  "I  never  ...."  a  kind  of  "Truth  or  Dare,"  without  the  dare. 

1  learned  a  lot  about  my  affinity  group. 


in  the  Sweatshop  District. 


Thursday:     "Si  Se  Puede!' 
Journal  for  August  17 

On  Thursday,  the  Green  Hornets  volunteered  at  the  convergence 
space,  tearing  down  old  literature  from  the  walls,  writing  schedules  on 
poster  board  and  hanging  them  around  the  building. 

We  joined  thousands  in  a  march  against  sweatshops,  for  a  living 
wage,  and  against  the  militarization  of  our  borders.  Hundreds  of  people 
carried  large,  white  crosses  on  which  were  written  the  names  of  people 
who  died  trying  to  cross  the  border.  We  chanted  and  drumined  through 
the  gannent  district,  the  sweatshop  capital  of  Los  Angeles.  Hundreds, 
maybe  thousands,  all  people  of  color,  leaned  out  the  windows  of  the 
garment  factories  to  cheer  us  on,  to  raise  their  fists,  to  chant  with  us:  "Si 
se  peude!"  <Yes  we  can!>  We  marched  down  to  the  Staples  Center  for 
a  final  celebration.  The  convention  was  ending.  Our  work,  though,  was 
far  from  over. 

After  a  performance  by  Michael  Franti,  the  crowd,  5000  strong, 
marched  to  the  Twin  Towers  city  jail  where  many  activists  were  being 
held.  There  had  been  1 98  arrests  during  the  week,  and  over  60  activists 
remained  in  jail.  They  were  participating  in  jail  solidarity:  they  had 
refused  to  give  their  names  and  were  not  cooperating  with  the  guards. 
They  were  demanding  that  the  DA  negotiate  with  the  group  collectively; 
that  everyone  receive  the  same  charges,  including  those  already  released, 
and  that  those  charges  be  infractions. 

This  march  was  not  pemiitted,  but  the  police  escorted  it,  knowing 
they  couldn't  stop  it.  The  chanting  crowd  was  energetic  and  angry.  Out- 
side the  jail,  speakers  were  often  drowned  out  by  the  noise  of  the  low 
flying  helicopters.  Again  the  police  decided  to  cut  off  all  our  exits,  try- 
ing to  fan  our  anger.  Again,  they  failed.  We  would  not  break  our  dedi- 
cation to  non-violence. 

The  police  eventually  agreed  to  let  us  through,  but  also  threatened 
to  arrest  anyone  who  remained.  March  organizers  then  made  what  I  felt 
was  a  serious  mistake:  they  asked  everyone  to  leave.  Instead  of  encour- 
aging demonstrators  to  make  their  own  decisions,  the  organizers  were 
repeating  the  same  message  as  the  police  and  the  unscrupulous,  blue- 
uniformed  Department  of  Justice  negotiators:  there  is  risk  of  arrest,  so 
go.  We  had  come  to  do  a  vigil.  Many  had  planned  to  stay  until  the 
activists  in  jail  were  released,  their  demands  met.  Instead,  the  confusion 
and  bitterness  so  weakened  solidarity  that  only  six  people  stayed  the 
night.  The  cops  never  followed  through  with  their  arrest  threat. 

Police  harassed  and  brutalized  dispersing  protesters,  most  egre- 
giously  at  the  7th  Street  subway  stop.  Here,  for  reasons  unclear  to  any- 
one, the  police  decided  to  clear  the  station.  They  gave  a  two  minute  warn- 


J)  seconds  later  charged  the  protesters  with  batons.    Some 
1  -.  were  beaten,  some  arrested. 
I  he  protests  were  not  truly  over,  not  until  the  last  acti\ists  were 
uut  ofjail.  their  trials,  if  an\.  completed. 


Epilogue:    The  Last  Days 

—  Jail  Vigil — 

The  jail  vigil  began  in  earnest  on  Friday.  Puppets  and  signs  were 
made,  and  there  was  a  visible  presence  outside  the  jail  24  hours  a  day. 
though  in  radically  smaller  numbers.  By  Sunday  when  I  participated, 
there  were  maybe  40  acti\ ists  remaining.  About  20  were  on  hunger 
strike  in  solidarity  with  those  on  the  inside. 

Inside,  activist  women  were  forced  to  endure  multiple  strip  and 
cavity  searches  and  were  paraded  naked  in  front  of  the  men.  At  one 
point,  40  jailed  activists  went  on  hunger  strike  protesting  the  lockdown 
of  women  prisoners  (all  women  prisoners,  not  just  the  activists). 
Lockdown:  no  leaving  the  cell,  no  making  phone  calls,  no  contacting 
your  law  yer  or  family. 

By  Tuesday,  jailed  acti\  ists  had  w  on  most  of  their  demands.  Most 
were  released  that  night. 


—  The  Last  Spokes  — 

Friday  at  noon  w as  the  last  spokes  council  meeting.  There  were  a 
lot  of  unhappy  people  there,  mostly  focused  on  the  \  igil.  A  good  deal 
of  time  was  taken  to  both  praise  and  criticise  the  week's  organizing. 

Many  criticisms  revolved  around  authoritarian  decisions  made  by 
the  organizers,  particularly  by  DAN  (Direct  Action  Network).  For  an- 
archists like  myself,  if  you  make  decisions  which  affect  mc.  there  had 
better  be  a  good  reason  w  hy  1  shouldn't  have  a  voice  in  those  decisions, 
or  1  will  consider  your  authority  illegitimate.  Some  of  these  decisions  I 
thought  were  justified.  For  example,  decisions  on  how  to  efl'ectively 
work  with  community  groups  were  made  months  in  advance.  I  think 
that  work  was  enomiously  important,  though  organizers  not  involved 
early  were  thereby  excluded.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were  some  occa- 
sions where  organizers  acted  paternally,  the  dispersing  of  Thursday 
night's  vigil  being  one  example. 

The  work  done  at  the  convergence  space  by  DAN  and  all  the  other 
organizers  was  explicitly  anti-racist,  feminist,  queer  liberationist.  .Adopting 
these  views  requires  making  thetn  an  explicit  part  of  our  organizations, 
over  and  abo\e  our  personal  behav ior  The  organizing  was  designed  to 
raise  such  consciousness,  and  though  there  were  criticisms,  there  was 
also  an  environment  where  such  criticisms  were  welcomed. 

Some  thought  Tuesday's  march  on  women's  rights  and  economic 
justice  did  not  receive  sufficient  support  either  in  numbers  or  resources 
(in  particular,  a  sound  tmck  promised  but  not  delivered).  Also,  some  of 
the  older  participants  felt  like  their  needs  were  not  attended  on  some 
marches. 

Some  felt  that  we  could  have  had  a  greater  impact  w  iih  more  con- 
frontational non-violent  tactics.  1  disagree.  In  LA.  the  police  are  killers, 
and  staring  them  in  the  eye  is  a  form  of  ci\  il  disobedience.  What's  more, 
relative  to  the  demonstrations  in  Seattle  and  Washington,  there  was  greater 
participation  by  communities  of  color,  the  w  orking  class  and  immigrants. 
If  I  get  arrested,  being  a  white,  middle  class  activist.  I'm  prettv  sure  I'll 
get  out.  I  don't  have  an\  "strikes"  in  C'alifomia's  three  strikes  criminal 
system.  I  won't  get  deported.  I  don't  have  a  family  to  support.  For  those 
taking  greater  risks,  failure  to  respect  their  needs  will  effectively  exclude 
them,  when  what  we  need  to  do  is  build  alliances.  Those  that  wanted  to 
use  more  militant  tactics  could  have  organized  parallel  actions,  attracting 
participants  at  spokes  council  meetings. 

Bv  the  standard  of  movement  building.  I  think  we  were  enonnously 
successful.  There  were  coalitions  built  thai  will  likely  last  and  grow. 
Community  organizers  worked  w  iih  activ  ists  groups,  linking  local  issues 
with  national  and  international  concerns.  Good  connections  were  made 
with  communities  of  color  and  working  class  communities,  work  that  is 
only  just  beginning.  It  was  reflected  in  the  makeup  of  participanis  at  all 
levels  of  organizing:  from  lead  organizers  of  rallies,  to  speakers,  to  par- 
ticipating marchers.  We  should  be  proud  of  the  work  done  here  and  build 
on  it.  ir 


\c  Musings 


[politics] 


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l.lMi..ll,.l..lll I.ll.lnl.lni.l III.I..I 


in  Philadelphia  and  Los  Angeles 

By  Daniel  Fernandez 


"'Grandeur'  and  'decadence'  do  not  have  intrinsic  contents  of  their  own, 
but  are  the  empty  signifiers  of  a  fullness  of  society  which  can  be  actuahzed 
by  the  most  different  special  forces. .the  different  struggles  and  democratic 
initiatives  arc  not  united  to  each  other  by  necessary  links-  so  wc  have 
metonymical  relations  of  contiguity." 

-Ernesto  Laclati,  The  Politics  of  Rhetoric 

The  initial  shock  sent  over  the  airwaves  of  mainstream  America  in  the 
wake  of  the  protests  in  Seattle  and  Washington  D.C.  has  seemingly  been 
reduced  to  a  mild  pinch  on  the  arm.  It's  not  so  much  that  the  protests 
have  gotten  smaller  or  that  the  numbers  of  people  disenfranchised  by 
the  WTO,  the  IMF/World  Bank,  the  DNC  or  the  RNC  have  shrunk  at  all. 
Indeed,  one  of  the  awe-inspiring  aspects  of  the  recent  actions  across  the 
country  has  not  only  been  their  sheer  size  but  the  multiplicity  of  interests 
articulated  from  far  and  wide.  The  question  lies  in  how  we  might 
maximize  the  sites  in  which  these  protests  take  place  such  that  they  are 
transformed  into  spaces  of  interruption.  In  other  words,  in  the  days  that 
we  converge  upon  such  cities,  how  might  we,  each  in  our  own  way, 
interrupt  the  flows  (literal  and  figurative)  of  a  city's  daily  grind  in  order 
to  redirect  them  towards  the  creation  of  new  fomis  of  life,  cooperation, 
and  production?  In  what  ways  can  the  particularities  of  our  individual 
interests  be  voiced  in  such  a  way  as  to  exceed  ourselves  and  extend  to 
the  needs  of  others?  What  follows  are  simply  musings  that  might 
contribute,  in  however  meager  a  way,  to  that  exploration. 

Call  it  a  missed  opportunity.  Call  it  missing  the  big  picture. 
Depending  on  who's  asked,  the  Camden  Waterfront  that  was  used  for 
the  opening  ceremonies  of  the  Republican  National  Convention  would 
appear  to  contain  within  it  a  certain  blind  spot  for  Republican 
conventioneers  and  protesters  alike.  Organizers  for  the  opening  fireworks 
extravaganza  took  great  pains  to  secure  the  area  near  Rutgers-Camden 


so  that  the  delegates,  who  were  either  bused  in  by  the  dozen  or  driving 
their  own  limousines,  would  not  in  any  way  have  to  sec  the  stark  poverty 
that  confronts  those  post-industrial  cities  on  the  east  coast.  Many  of  us 
know  these  veritable  ghost  towns  of  manufacturing  days  past,  as  they 
stretch  a  gamut  from  Buffalo  to  Binghamton  to  Camden  and  beyond. 
But  on  this  particular  evening,  streets  were  meticulously  clean,  buildings 
assiduously  boarded  up,  and  blocks  barricaded  so  the  few  residents 
remaining  in  the  area  could  not  see  the  carnival  that  was  about  to  descend 
upon  what  was  left  of  their  community.  Newspaper  articles  in  preceding 
weeks  had  heralded  everyone's  favorite  search  and  seizure  Governor 
Christine  Todd  Whitman's  efforts  to  revive  the  Camden  waterfront  for 
Sunday  evening's  festivities.  Her  initiative  was,  of  course,  to  save  the 
delegates  from  the  slightest  bit  of  contamination,  especially  those  effected 
by  the  anti-welfare  rights  policies  initiated  in  the  Reagan-Bush  years 
and  completed  in  the  Clinton  era.  Granted,  this  is  hardly  a  surprise. 
Republicans  (and  Democrats),  for  all  their  grandstanding  about 
representing  everyday  Americans,  haven't  the  slightest  idea  of  what 
evei-yday  America  increasingly  looks  like:  not  that  much  different  than 
the  world's  poorest  nations. 

So  it  should  hardly  come  as  any  surprise  that  George  W.,  the  son  of 
an  American  president  who  mar\  eled  at  the  Jetsonian  technology  of  your 
ever>'day  grocery  scanners  upon  visiting  a  supennarket,  would  have  a 
party  on  the  Camden  waterfront  for  guests  who  were  about  as  close  to 
representing  everyday  America  as  Alice  in  Wonderland.  The  only  rain 
on  the  Camden  Waterfront  that  night  was  the  persistent  drizzle  from 
dark  clouds  overhead.  Similarly,  the  only  rain  for  the  delegates  the  rest 
of  the  week  in  Philadelphia  were  those  "wily  and  zany  (but  nc\  ertheless 
mildly  entertaining)  protesters  who  just  won't  get  ajob."  But  what  if  the 
delegates  really  had  to  get  stuck  in  the  rain? 

Protesters  for  the  most  part  remained  peaceful  until  Tuesday, 


The  Murderers  Must  Not  Ge 


/  MT/Vf  this  article  as  memorial. 

()t  course,  lilcaluays  ends.  Sa\e  for  what  I  consider  to  be  mythol- 
ogy, I  cannot  think  of  a  single  exception  to  this  rule.  Yet  not  all  death 
should  be  considered  tragic.  Technically  and  philosophically,  if  there 
were  some  living  thing  that  could  not  die.  it  would  perplex  our  knowl- 
edge of  life.  Hou  can  ue  understand  any  sense  in  which  something  is 
living  without  an  understanding  of  death?  In  fact,  our  understanding  of 
life  is  defined,  by  contrast,  w  ith  our  understanding  of  death.  Death  is  a 
part  of  life.  But  Jafar  Siddiq  Hamzah,  a  healthy  35-year-old  man.  was 
murdered  at  that  young  age  because  of  his  distinguished  dedication  to 
the  security  of  human  rights.  Thus,  there  are  certain  deaths  that  can  only 
be  accepted  as  tragic.  In  what  way  might  such  a  disgusting  death  en- 
hance our  understanding  of  life?  Perhaps,  if  we  consider  the  life  that 
was  taken.  And  although  1  write  this  article  w ith  profound  sadness,  I  do 
mtend  to  address  these  questions. 

/  write  this  article  as  hope. 

Even  when  there  seemed  to  be  no  practical  solutions,  Jafar  was 
filled  with  hope.  He  educated  our  awareness  with  the  hope  that  we 
would  act.  The  more  1  refieeted  on  Jafar's  death,  the  clearer  it  became 
that  1  could  not  uaste  the  pri\  ilege  to  write  for  clamor  by  neglecting  to 
deal  w ith  this  topic.  Therefore,  1  write  to  educate  our  awareness  with 
the  hope  that  we  will  act.  In  Jafar's  most  tragic  absence.  1  write  for  the 
sake  of  his  hope. 

Jafar  Siddiq  Hamzah  was  born  on  November  16.  1965,  in 
Lhokseumaw  c.  Aceh,  Sumatra.  Indonesia.  He  w  as  an  accomplished  hu- 
man riuhts  law  vcr  in  Medan,  North  Sumatra,  Indonesia  before  he  mo\  ed 


{Strategic  Musings,  continued  from  p.  1 9) 

August  1,  the  day  of  solidarity  for  Mumia  Abu-Jamal.  Presumably  most 
of  those  arrested  that  day  had  held  out  on  earlier  occasions,  so  as  to  be 
strong  in  number  for  other  marches.  But  what  if  the  numbers  that  gathered 
on  the  morning  of  July  3 1  for  the  Kensington  Welfare  Rights  Union 
(KWRU)  march  or  on  Tuesday  evening  at  City  Hall  had  blocked  the 
already  blocked  off  streets  of  Camden?  What  if  they  had  simply  sat  in 
thousands  on  the  all-important  Ben  Franklin  Bridge  that  leads  from 
Central  Philadelphia  lo  Camden  the  night  of  the  opening  ceremonies? 
Instead  of  police  surrounding  thousands  of  protesters  from  all  sides  in 
Central  Philadelphia,  why  not  thousands  of  protesters  surrounding 
delegates  on  all  fronts,  blocking  the  Ben  Franklin  Bridge  on  each  end  as 
soon  as  buses  and  limousines  made  their  way  onto  it'.' 

Sure,  such  an  action  might  have  resulted  in  hundreds  of  arrests,  but 
if  the  mobilization  were  strong  enough  in  number,  the  delay  into  the 
evening's  scheduled  festivities  might  have  been  prolonged  enough  lo 
cancel  the  party  altogether.  Or  it  might  have  prompted  the  delegates  to 
take  widely  circuitous  alternative  routes  that  would  have  forced  the 
Republicans,  who  on  the  first  night  of  their  convention  vowed  to  "leave 
no  child  behind",  lo  see  with  their  own  eyes  entire  communities  left 
behind  in  the  age  of  this  much  too  heralded  "miracle  economy". 

Strategically,  one  must  proceed  such  thai  her  his  opponent  mnnoi 
/)/(/ respond  andor capitulate  .A successful  maneuver,  in  whate\er arena, 
must  proceed  such  that  it  produces  an  etTect  presenting  an  exigency  that 
demands  its  addressee  to  respond,  regardless  of  w  hether  s/he  wants  to  or 
not.  Protesters  can't  be  ignored  w  hen  you  can't  get  to  your  million-dollar 
party.  Poverty  can't  be  shied  away  from  when  you're  lost  in  a  lower 
income  neighborhood  and  you  have  to  ask  for  directions.  At  a  time  w  hen 


there  seems  to  be  few  viable  alternatives  on  the  horizon  for  those  who 
demand  and  imagine  a  more  equitable  democracy,  our  protests  need  to 
take  on  greater  urgencies.  We  can  no  longer  afford  to  miss  any  more 
opportunities,  no  one  can  atTord  to  miss  seeing  the  big  picture. 
But  at  a  time  w  hen  our  protests  have  been  portrayed  in  the  mainstream 
media  as  little  more  than  unintelligible  acts  of  violence  or  misdirected 
energy,  we  must  nevertheless  ask  the  difTicult  question:  what  of  this 
media  representation  is  derived  from  media  ignorance  and  what  of  it 
might  be  derived  from  our  owti  strategic  blind  spots? 

When  the  Italian  Marxist  Antonio  Gramsci  wrote  his  Prison 
Notebooks  one  of  his  concerns  w  as  tlie  extent  to  w  hich  sub\  ersion  (\  iolent 
or  otherwise)  could  affect  a  disruption  of  the  daily  grind  of  civil  society 
such  thai  the  predominance  of  the  Stale's  functioning  could  be  interrupted. 
Today  we  might  ask  how  it  is  that  our  actions,  how  e\  er  conceiv  cd,  might 
dismpt  the  unquestionability  of  a  freedom  that  is  more  often  spt^ken  of 
on  the  terms  of  the  market  (or  the  driving  of  your  new  I  lyundai  Elanlra) 
rather  than  the  freedom  of  creating  and  or  fostering  practices  that  might 
be  most  conducive  to  one's  self  realization. 

The  possibility  of  engaging  in  such  actions,  however,  was  a  most 
difficult  task  for  those  who  descended  upon  Los  Angeles  for  the 
Democratic  National  Con\cntion.  The  Los  .Angeles  Police  Department's 
planning  refieeted  not  only  shrewd  tactical  brilliance;  it  was  also  a 
showcase  of  its  potential  for  raw,  brutal  force.  It  was  an  odd  sight  indeed 
w  hen  one  gazed  upon  the  ultra  modem  Staples  Center  and  its  fenced  in 
perimeter.  The  latter  was  characterized  by  1 5  foot  fences  mounted  upon 
4  fool  cement  bairicades  which  wove  their  way  around  and  about  the 
Staples  C  enter,  constructing  a  rather  unique  space  of  incarceration.  .And 
yet,  instead  ol"  heightening  the  possible  sense  that  the  Democrats  might 


[politics] 


/hat  They  Sought: 

le  ueain  ot  jarar  Siddiq  Hamzah;  The  Death  of  a  Revolutionist 

by  Richard  Gilman  Opalsky 


to  New  York  to  found  the  International  Fonim  forAceh(IFA).  for  which 
he  was  the  chaim:an.  He  has  published  numerous  articles  and  has  given 
many  presentations  at  conferences  and  lectures  around  the  world.  His 
work  addressed  problems  of  the  military  in  Indonesia,  the  residency  of 
multinational  corporations  in  Aceh,  Aceh's  status  as  a  province  of  Indo- 
nesia under  Jakartan  discretion,  and  the  endless  human  rights  \  iolalions 
that  follow  the  exploitation  and  exportation  of  Aceh  "s  natural  resources. 
Jafar  had  an  obses- 
sion that  afflicted 
his  noble  character. 
He  could  never  rest 
while  the  mass  of 
people  in  Aceh  were 
suffering  from  pov- 
erty and  all  of  its 
common  effects. 
Jafar's  tireless  dedi- 
cation to  these  is- 
sues vsas  tempered 
by  the  most  nuanced 
and  intimate  under- 
standing of  the  role 
of  the  global  community.  The  root  causes  of  many  of  Indonesia's  prob- 
lems are  to  be  found  in  Indonesian  and  international  business  policies, 
in  market-based  land  usage  for  development  raliier  than  subsistence,  in 
grov\ing  govemment  initiatives  to  capitalize  at  all  costs,  and  in  the  self- 
interest  that  infects  human  nature  subjected  to  such  conditions.    The 


Jafar  had  an  obsession  that  afflicted  his  noble  character. 
He  could  never  rest  while  the  mass  of  people  in  Aceh  were 
suffering  from  poverty  and  all  of  Its  common  effects. 
Jafar's  tireless  dedication  to  these  issues  was  tempered  by 
the  most  nuanced  and  intimate  understanding  of  the  role  of 
the  global  community. 


scrutiny  of  the  international  community  could  lead  to  the  radical  refor- 
mation of  the  policies  that  neglect  the  general  welfare  of  the  people. 
Human  rights  atrocities  are  far  easier  to  enact  when  they  can  be  enacted 
in  privacy,  without  the  reactions  of  mobilized  peoples.  Men  usually 
beat  their  spouses  in  the  privacy  of  their  respective  homes  because  they 
expect  and  fear  the  condemnation  of  the  public  in  opposition.  Yet  the 
historv  of  the  problems  in  Indonesia  reveal  that  they  are  very  complex, 

and  that  they  are 
not  reducible  to 
any  other  institu- 
tionally oppressive 
situation.  The  po- 
litical scene  in  In- 
donesia has  been  a 
brutal  and  bloody 
one  for  over  the 
past  30  years. 
Aceh,  a  special  ter- 
ritory of  Indonesia, 
is  located  south  of 
Malaysia  in  the  In- 
dian Ocean.  Aceh 
is  considered  a  special  territory  because  the  Acehnese,  who  were  never 
colonized  by  the  Dutch,  nevertheless  supported  Indonesia's  struggle  for 
independence.  By  environment,  Aceh  is  one  of  the  richest  provinces  in 
Indonesia,  providing  to  the  central  govemment  substantial  revenues  from 
its  oil,  natural  gas,  and  other  environmental  resources.  Yet,  while  the 


have  felt  fenced  in  themselves,  imprisoned  within  the  cold  and  empty 
exclusions  of  the  populist  rhetoric  that  masks  their  corporate  marriages, 
an  unfortunate  and  strategically  idiotic  series  of  events  followed  on 
August  14.  Instead  of  attempting  to  heighten  for  the  whole  world  the 
sense  in  which  Los  Angeles  had  been  transformed  into  a  state  of  martial 
law.  a  series  of  ill-planned  maneuvers  (could  you  elaborate  on  these 
maneuvers  either  here  or  in  the  next  paragraph)  ensued  and  police  opened 
fire  on  hundreds  of  protesters  with  rubber  bullets  and  tear  gas  canisters. 

And  it  was  these  events,  provoked  merely  by  dozens  who  distanced 
themselves  from  the  thousands  and  who,  despite  their  insistence  to  the 
contrary,  shi  fted  representations  of  the  protests  precisely  onto  sensutiun 
and  away  from  the  issues.  It's  one  thing  to  advocate  violence  in  political 
struggle  and  follow  through  in  a  manner  that  attempts  to  maximize  one's 
subversive  capacities  against  those  of  an  enemy  (however  futile  such  an 
advocacy  might  be  in  ad\  anced  capitalist  states  whose  hegemonic  civil 
society  has  not  been  suITiciently  contested').  It's  quite  another  thing  to 
engage  in  violence  so  ridiculously  futile  that  it  seems  contrived. 

In  short,  our  strategic  planning  might  want  to  consider  more  than 
just  a  "to-do"  list  of  tasks  that  could  disrupt  politics-as-usual  in  the  United 
States  (as  we, tried  to  examine  in  the  case  of  Camden).  Wc  might  also 
want  to  elaborate  precisely  what  kind  of  disruptions  we  want  to  effect 
by  excluding  actions  that  merely  reinforce  already  existing  public 
suppositions  regarding  the  protests  rather  than  disrupt  them.  This  does 
not  necessarily  imply  a  rejection  of  political  violence  tout  court;  rather, 
it  suggests  the  need  to  continually  re-evaluate  what  kinds  of  actions  are 
most  conducive  to  the  disruptions  we  want  to  etTect.  Simply  put,  we 
would  make  such  evaluation  contingent  upon  the  situation. 

The  melee  that  ensued  outside  the  Staples  Center  when  a  group 


engaged  in  a  strategically  ridiculous  confrontation  effectively  evacuated 
whatever  space  of  contestation  had  been  claimed  through  music  and 
creativity.  Such  art  and  creativity  may  have  expanded  the  chain  of 
struggle  to  the  many  of  those  present  during  the  concerts  that  were  not 
overtly  involved  in  the  protests  (i.e.  the  residents  of  Los  Angeles). 

And  this  is  now  our  struggle.  Very  few  Americans  have  to  be 
reminded  of  the  socio-economic  inequality  that  they  experience  on  a 
daily  basis:  indeed,  we  all  know  it  quite  well.  Knowledge  of  an  inequality 
is  not  always  sufTicient  grounds  for  everyone  to  act  upon  it.  so  it  is  crucial 
to  establish  wherein  our  stniggles  coincide  with  those  of  the  residents  of 
the  cities  wc  in  part  share  during  the  duration  of  our  protests. 
As  Ernesto  Laclau's  quote  at  the  beginning  of  this  text  suggests,  such 
links  are  not  bound  by  the  basis  of  any  a  prior  necessity,  but  rather, 
because  of  strategic  initiatives.  That  we  march  together  does  not  collapse 
the  individual  reasons  Jor  our  striking  separately.  And  our  marching 
together  most  certainly  ineans  expanding  the  spheres  in  which  we  march. 

This  is  our  challenge-^especially  at  a  time  when  outreach  to  the 
residents  of  the  communities  in  which  we  protest  is  vital  to  furthering  a 
social  movement.  And  when  media  representations  of  our  actions  reduce 
our  work  to  nothing  but  scattered  fragments  of  meaning,  how  we  construe 
our  alliances  and  along  what  lines  is  of  critical  import.  The  task  before 
all  of  us  is  to  represent  what  we  are  struggling  against  as  that  which 
people  cannot  hut  act  upon.  -^ 

*For  a  more  detailed  analysis  of  this,  turn  to  the  sections  on  niilitaiy  and  political 
science  in  Antonio  Gramsci's  Selections  from  the  Prison  Notebooks. 


[politics] 


Indor  osian  government  and  its  business  aHlliates  fatten  themselves  on 
Atoll's  resources.  Acch  remains  one  of  the  poorest  provinces,  with  a 
very  high  number  of  its  villages  living  disastrously  below  the  poverty 
level. 

In  addition  to  these  economic  disparities,  there  have  been  numer- 
ous government  efforts  advocating  that  Aceh  becomes  a  regular  terri- 
tory of  Indonesia  by  revoking  its  special  status  and  treating  it  as  a  prov- 
ince that  played  no  significant  role  in  Indonesia's  independence.  These 
facts  are  all  interconnected  and  at  the  root  of  Aceh's  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence. These  problems  ha\  c  given  rise  to  the  Free  Acch  movement. 
which  seeks  to  achieve  political,  economic  and  social  autonomy  for  Ac^h. 
But  instead  of  working  to  resolve  the  socio-political  and  economic  con- 
tlict  through  an  open  dialogue,  the  central  government  has.  under  Gen- 
eral Suiiarlo.  inobiii/ed  the  military  to  institutionalize  state  violence  and 
counter-insurgency  programs.  These  military  forces  were  mostly  di- 
rected against  suspected  members  of  the  independence  movement.  How- 
e\er.  the  suspects  are  often  chosen  arbitrarily,  without  even  the  knowl- 
edge of  their  names.  Therefore,  the  military  operation  has  far  exceeded 
counter-insurgency,  creating  an  unrestricted  atmosphere  of  rape,  torture 
and  random  murder,  fhe  brutality  against  civilians  has  consisted  of 
some  of  the  most  revolting  acts  imaginable.  After  the  first  major  elec- 
tions in  Indonesia  in  June  1999.  a  new  president.  Wahid,  was  elected  to 
supplant  the  prev  ious  dictator.  Gen- 
eral Suharto.  Wahid  is  a  radically 
ditTerent  leader  than  Suharto,  and 
his  attitude  toward  the  Indonesian 
military  reflects  that.  But  Wahid  has 
not  inherited  a  clean  slate,  and  the 
mass  psychological  effects  of  living 
through  decades  of  violence  has 
taken  a  rather  secure  hold  of  the 
minds  of  so  many  Indonesians.  Of 
course,  it  is  critical  to  the  new  ad- 
ministration that  the  international 
community  sees  a  new  and  less  vio- 
lent Indonesia.  However,  the  steady 

fiow  of  news  coming  out  of  Indonesia  does  not  support  these  iiopes.  and 
the  violence  continues  today.  The  go\ernmcnt-appointed  Commission 
on  Human  Rights  has  recommended  that  the  military  be  disciplined  and 
made  accountable  for  its  crimes,  and  the  United  States  has  recently  threat- 
ened ridiculous  and  idiotic  mandates  such  as  "Put  a  stop  to  this  violence, 
or  else  we  will  stop  helping  you  to  fund  your  military."  These  things, 
coupled  with  the  new  presidential  leadership,  may  all  prove  to  be  red 
herrings,  since  large  numbers  of  military  personnel  are  still  in  Aceh; 
splinter  groups  and  rebel  groups  are  armed  and  active;  and  the  wealthy 
elite,  like  the  wealthy  elite  in  any  country,  despise  all  dissidents  who 
criticize  the  abuse  and  distribution  of  their  resources.  Needless  to  say, 
the  killings  have  nt)t  stopped. 

It  IS  also  a  rather  well-documented  fact  (for  example,  there  was 
even  extensive  coverage  in  Business  Week  magazine)  that  Mobil  Oil 
provided  logistical  support  to  the  Indonesian  military  throughout  their 
stay  in  Aceh.  The  military  government  used  Mobil's  machinery  for  the 
explicit  purpose  of  digging  mass  graves  for  the  dumping  ofciv  ilian  bod- 
ies. Many  of  those  found  dead  are  the  corpses  of  children,  further, 
Mobil  has  significantly  depleted  the  rich  environmental  resources  there, 
exhibiting  complete  disregard  for  the  village's  inleidependency  w  ith  na- 
ture. And  finally,  some  of  the  t)tricers  involved  in  these  atrocities  were 
trained  in  the  Dinted  Stales.  In  addition  to  this,  another  U.S.  multina- 
tional oil  company,  Frecport-McMoRan,  occupies  space  in  West  Papua, 
and  is  reportedly  taking  a  similar  toll  on  the  environmental  sources  of 
life  for  the  indigenous  peoples  there. 

.lafar  returned  to  Indonesia  at  the  start  of  the  summer  of  2()()()  ti) 
continue  his  work  there.  But  his  w hereabouts  became  unknown  bv  his 
family,  friends  and  comrades  at  approximately  1 1  :.10  a.m..  Saturday,  Au- 
gust 5.  Until  this  time,  he  had  been  calling  his  family  every  two  hours  to 
msure  them  of  his  safety.  It  was  immediately  feared  that  Jafar  had  been 
detained  or  killed  by  some  unknown  group  who  ibund  his  work  as  a 


But  what  was  so  beautiful  about  Jafar 
was  that  he  recognized  that  the  world 
is  bigger  than  he  was.  And  what  is 
so  tragic  about  his  death  is  that  he 
was  killed  for  believing  in  that. 


human  rights  peace  activist  to  be  objectionable.  It  is  known  in  Indone- 
sia, in  the  United  States,  and  around  the  world  that  Jafar  was  a  leading 
activist  hardly  safe  in  Medan.  At  the  time  of  his  disappearance  he  was 
travelling  to  meet  with  local  politicians  and  a  Japanese  telev  ision  crew. 
Unquestionably,  he  was  intending  to  work  with  them  on  the  issue  of 
Aceh.  The  month  of  August  was  filled  with  letter  writing,  faxing,  phone 
calling,  and  mostly,  with  anxious,  nervous  waiting.  All  the  appropriate 
consulates  were  Hooded  with  demands  to  find  Jafar  Sydnev  Jones  of 
Human  Rights  Watch  rallied  support  to  pressure  the  authorities  to  locate 
him.  and  yet  we  all  must  have  sensed  the  point  at  which  looking  for  a 
living  man  was  unrealistic. 

On  September  3.  some  villagers  reported  a  foul  smell  coming  from 
a  ravine  just  outside  Medan.  where  five  bodies  were  found.  All  of  the 
bodies  were  wrapped  from  head  to  toe  in  barbed  wire,  their  hands  tied 
behind  their  backs,  and  were  stabbed  numerous  times.  One  of  those 
bodies  was  Jafar's.  His  face  was  smashed  in.  His  family  positively 
identified  his  body  on  September  5.  It  is  suspected  that  he  may  have 
been  killed  by  members  of  the  Indonesian  militarv'  acting  outside  of  the 
line  of  command. 

Jafar,  while  in  New  York,  was  also  a  student  in  the  Political  Sci- 
ence department  at  New  School  University  where  I  am  a  student.  In 
addition  to  being  a  student  at  the  univ  ersity,  I  also  work  in  the  Ofilce  of 

.Xcadcmic  .MTairs,  a  place  where  I 
would  sometimes  see  Jafar  2-3 
times  a  week.  Jafar's  face  always 
wore  the  most  beaming  smile,  one 
which  greeted  me  with  profound 
sincerity  and  which  indicated  his 
genuine  pleasure  to  sec  me.  Some- 
times, he  came  in  for  some  of  the 
most  banal  things:  He  needed  a 
form  of  some  kind  or  another  or  had 
questions  about  general  academic 
policies.  Often  he  would  come  to 
visit  a  coworker  of  mine,  and  a  ver\' 
close  friend  of  his,  w  ith  whom  he 
could  speak  in  Indonesian.  .About  a  week  after  he  began  his  studies  he 
came  to  sec  me  to  start  up  a  student  group  called  the  Student  Coalition 
for  Aceh.  One  time,  Jafar  and  I  went  to  get  lunch  together,  and  I  at- 
tempted to  discuss  some  more  personal  issues  with  him.  Jafar  would, 
very  politely,  cut  me  otTso  that  he  could  return  our  attention  to  his  cause. 
Another  time,  Jafar  met  w  ith  mv  band  mates  and  I  to  record  an  inter- 
view. We  set  up  a  4-lrack  mock  radio  studio  in  mv  friend's  kitchen,  and 
Jafar  jumped  at  the  chance  to  take  any  opportunitv  to  further  the  aware- 
ness of  his  cause.  He  was  so  proud  when  1  finallv  presented  him  with  a 
CD  featuring  a  track  entitled  "Jafar  Siddiq  Hamzah."  His  smile,  during 
that  presentation,  was  somehow  inspiring  to  me. . .  if  vou  could  imagine 
a  smile  being  that. 

As  a  well-known  human  rights  lawyer  in  Indonesia,  Jafar's  name 
was  referenced  weekly  in  local  newspapers  throughout  North  Sumatra. 
Yet,  Jafar  opted  to  drive  a  taxi  while  he  was  in  New  York  City.  He  did 
this  on  tiie  weekends  and  late  at  night  in  order  to  leave  enough  time  for 
his  political  activ  ities.  He  never  told  mc  this.  1  learned  about  this  occu- 
pation of  Jafar's  later  on,  from  a  friend  of  his.  Neither  did  Jafar  cv  er  tell 
me  how  widely  known  he  was  in  his  homeland.  I  suppose  that  the 
achievements  of  notoriety  and  career  were  not  his  real  aims,  and  that 
this  is  why  he  never  mentioned  them.  W  hal  Jafar  realK  wanted  was  the 
security  of  peace,  safety  and  freedom  for  his  people.  Jalar  was  the  most 
active  and  relentless  idealist  I  have  ever  met.  He  was  a  man  who  never 
stopped  fighting  for  his  ideal,  and  who  nev  er  stopped  trv  ing  to  transfer 
his  idealism  to  reality.  If  I  had  not  known  Jafar  in  a  more  personal  way. 
the  news  about  him  would  have  made  me  think  of  some  abstract  free- 
dom fighter,  inaccessible  to  regular  tblks.  and  perhaps  even  superhu- 
man. If  I  had  not  know  him,  learning  about  Jafar  may  have  fell  like  the 
overwhelming  love  of  hinnanitv  that  I  feel  when  learning  about  I-nima 
(ioldman  from  her  autobiogiaphv.  >el,  his  consistent  presence  in  mv 
everydav  cinironmeni  never  made  him  appear  this  wav  to  me.    Jatar 


was  the  extraordinary  demystified.  He  made  me  realize  that  people  vic- 
timized for  speaking  out  against  systemic  economic  oppression  and  po- 
litical tyranny  are  not  abstract  heroes  that  we  should  accept  as  fodder  for 
the  fires  of  our  leftist  agendas.  These  victims  are  people  right  here  on 
earth.  They  are  walking  amongst  us  indistinct  and  undetected,  with  their 
own  personal  battles  and  over-priced  apartments. 

If  Jafar  had  been  more  of  a  student  and  less  of  an  activist  he  may 
still  be  alive  today.  If  he  was  more  selfish  and  if  he  was  less  focused  on 
his  cause  perhaps  he  would  still  be  alive.  But  what  was  so  beautiful 
about  Jafar  was  that  he  recognized  that  the  world  is  bigger  than  he  was. 
And  what  is  so  tragic  about  his  death  is  that  he  was  killed  for  believing 
in  that.  But  I  do  not  think  this  means  Jafar  should  have  been  any  quieter 
than  he  was.  He  was  killed  because  he  refused  to  accommodate  the 
wishes  of  his  murderers.  What  is  so  scary  about  this  is  the  fact  that  most 
of  our  planet  is  still  entirely  unaware  of  Jafar's  cause,  and  that  he  was 
not  even  as  loud  and  visible  as  one  would  think  might  rouse  his  oppo- 
nents to  murder.  Jafar's  central  political  cause,  the  welfare  of  Aceh  and 
its  people,  never  really  achieved  the  visibility  or  familiarity  in  global 
consciousness  that  he  himself  would  have  wanted.  And  still,  by  com- 
parison to  any  given  Olympic  event,  the  publicity  of  Aceh  is  virtual  ly 
unspectacular.  Therefore,  his  opponents  should  have  had  some  other 
recourse  besides  murder.  The  frightening  truth  is  that  Jafar  was  already 
too  loud  and  too  visible  according  to  th(«c  opponents  of  peace  and  jus- 
tice who  claimed  his  life. 

We  must  educate  ourselves  about  the  situation  and  conditions  Jafar 
fought  for,  because  it  will  take  at  least  three  times  the  readership  of  this 
magazine  to  restore  the  volume  of  his  solitary  voice.  Jafar's  voice  needs 
to  be  restored,  because  the  only  thing  that  could  make  his  murder  com- 
plete would  be  if  Jafar's  death  silenced  his  struggle.  I  think  that  this  is 
the  way  he  would  see  it  himself  it  was  not  his  body  that  they  wanted 
dead,  but  his  work,  and  our  continued  reluctance  to  address  Jafar's  is- 
sues is  the  only  guarantee  that  his  murderers  will  get  what  they  wanted. 
The  only  real  justice  that  can  be  delivered  to  his  killers  would  be  to  lake 
the  very  thing  they  wanted  to  kill,  and  to  keep  it  bright  with  vitality. 

For  such  an  endeavor,  1  know  that  it  would've  helped  to  know  Jafar's 
smile.  Of  that,  we  have  truly  been  deprived.  As  for  me...  I  think  1  will 
use  his  smile  still  -  for  when  I  recall  it  1  am  warmed,  and  December  is 
here.  ^ 

For  More  Information ... 

...  on  Jafar's  disappearance  and  murder: 

1.  Newsday,  August  9,  2000 

2.  LA  Times,  September  17,  2000 

3.  East  Timor  Action  Network  -  www.etan.org/news/2000b/ 
jafarmm.htm>. 

...  on  Mobil's  involvement  in  Aceh: 

1.  BusinessWeek,  December  28,  1998 

...  on  Freeport  McMoran  in  West  Papua: 

I .  You  can  read  about  their  occupation  in  Indonesia  on  their  website 
at  www.fc.x.com,  but  the  reports  of  their  abuses  had  come  to  me 
direct  fromJafar 

...  on  Aceh's  Political  History  with  Indonesia: 

1.  Tapol  Report,  "A  Reign  of  Terror:  Human  Rights  Violations  in 
Aceh -1998-2000" 

2.  Amnesty  International's  report:  "Human  Rights  Violations  in 
Aceh."  . 


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CO 

o 


"Is  New  Brunswick  better  off  than  it  was 
in  1980?  A  simple  question  to  ask.  Simple 
question."  The  crux  of  the  matter  is  that 
the  current  state  of  the  city  is  anything 
but  simple,  but  rather  a  frustrating  con- 
glomeration of  corporate  interests,  private 
interests,  academic  interests,  and  a  ques- 
tion of  general  social  welfare  that  begs  a 
deeper  investigation. 


lO/OH/OO:  Enjoying  the  view  from  the  low  ei  portion  of  George  Street. 
People  sitting  outside  with  books  and  cigarettes,  the  train  trellis  bridge  in 
the  distance,  high-rises  and  miniature  skyscrapers  housing  hanks  and 
business  suits.  Tired  of  interviews.  Have  generally  run  out  of  usable  au- 
dio tape  to  make  any  more  recordings.  Fired  of  public  relations,  factual 
spin,  graphs  and  charts,  contradictions  and  half-truths.  Two  weeks  since 
I  began  the  massive  task  of  tackling  this  city,  tiying  to  rip  it  open  at  the 
seams,  not  realizing  that  a  city  is  a  beast  all  its  own.  a  creature  with  half 
a  dozen  heads  and  a  million  secrets.  Tiying  to  make  some  sense  of  these 
numbers,  conversations,  propaganda  pamphlets,  radical  newsprint  pam- 
phlets. Where  to  begin. 

first  an  abridged  lesson  in  liistor\  and  geourapln  is  in  order,  briet" 
and  to  the  point.  New  Brunsuiek  is  situated  near  the  center  of  New  Jer- 
sey, the  niahciously  and  inaccurately  described  amipit  ofAnienca.  where 
it  enjoys  close  proximity  by  train  to  both  Manhattan  and  Philadelphia. 
For  this  reason,  it's  often  been  dubbed  the  Hub  City;  it  has  alternately 
been  known  as  the  I  iealthCarc  City  for  its  high  number  of  medical  facili- 
ties, and  for  one  brief  point  in  misguided  time,  the  next  Seattle  for  its 
burgeoning  bar  and  music  scene.  The  city  is  also  the  home  to  Rutgers,  the 
state  University  of  New  Jersey. 

Witness  the  fate  of  urban  centers  across  America.  In  the  earl\  "TOs 
New  Brunswick  was  down  on  its  luck.  The  streets  were  dangerous,  and 
the  Johnson  ik.  Johnson  coiporation  (whose  main  headquarters  are  lo- 
cated in  town)  was  entertaining  the  notion  of  jumping  ship.  Witness  the 
birth  of  an  urban  renewal  project  that  in\ol\ed  the  building  of  a  high- 
class  hotel,  the  Hyatt  Regenc>.  in  a  fomierK  troubled  residential  area.  In 
1476,  a  private  public  partnership  was  created  in  the  wa>  of  two  organi- 
zations: Dl  \'CC)(New  Bninswick  DevelopmentCoqioration,  responsible 
for  rebuilding  the  downtown  area)  and  Nev\  Brunsw  ick  Tomorrow  (dedi- 
cated to  helping  social  needs).  DLV'CO  President  Chris  Paladino:  "Many 
people  miss  the  "old'  New  Brunswick.  It  was  king  of  like  the  \\  ild  West." 
Indeed,  the  site  of  the  current  Summit  Bank  building  used  to  house  an  \- 
ratcd  mo\  le  theater,  and  the  number  of  liquor  licenses  was  disproportion- 
ate to  its  small  size.  DEVCO"s  mission,  with  the  help  of  county  and  city 
go\  ernment.  w  as  to  refurbish  the  city  of  New  Brunsw  ick.  to  help  it  a\  oid 
the  dismal  late  of  other  Jersey  urban  centers  such  as  Camden. 

riiis  has  meant  a  great  deal  of  mone>  -raising  and  coiporate  financed 
construction.  DI  A'CO  promotional  photographs  show  a  portion  of  the 
downtown  area  in  1972  (dark  streets,  crumbling  sidewalks,  sad  tlickering 
neon  stores)  that  was  replaced  by  a  modem  epicenter  (ST.VRBL'CKS,  an 
upscale  knick-knack  shop,  an  e\pensi\c  microbrew  pub).  On  an  aesthetic 
Ie\el.  the  improvement  is  remarkable,  not  to  mention  the  fact  that  the 


iind  We're  Voting  Undecided 

Progress  and  Poverty 

in  an  American  College  Town 


words  and  photos  b   Scott  L  Indrisek 


formerly  dangerous  neighborhood  has  become  subdued,  secure,  ideal  for 
late-night  walks  and  sidewalk  cafes. 

Viewed  superficially,  it  is  convenient  to  appreciate  the  new  New 
Brunswick  without  asking  many  questions.  Unfortunately,  the  situation 
is  far  more  complex.  Despite  being  a  modem,  upscale  commercial  center, 
and  the  home  to  thousands  of  Rutgers  University  college  students.  New 
Brunswick  is  also  the  stomping  ground  of  a  4 1 ,7 1 1  natural  residents  (most 
likely  discounting  the  larger  number  of  immigrants  without  legal  papers). 
Sitting  outside  Starbucks  on  George  Street,  the  scene  is  more  suireal  than 
comforting.  Early  morning  businessmen  stroll  by.  briefcases  in  hand,  while 
the  homeless  smoke  cigarettes  and  the  mentally  ill  regular  speaks  Rus- 
sian to  an  invisible  companion. 

Rutgers  University  has  a  stronghold  on  one  end  of  town,  the  main 
campus  being  surrounded  by  clusters  of  off-campus  student  housing.  The 
base  of  George  Street  (formerly  the  devastated,  bumed-out  area  in  the 
'70s)  marks  the  beginning  of  the  non-uni\ersity  sector  George  proceeds 
up  several  blocks,  opens  out  into  Monument  Square  and  the  theater  dis- 
trict, descends  into  a  stretch  of  slightly  dilapidated  residential  housing, 
passes  the  Memorial  Homes  public  housing  project,  and  finally  empties 
out  into  the  green  lawns  and  brick  buildings  of  the  Women's  College  of 
Rutgers  University. 

Paladino  again:  "Is  New  Brunswick  better  off  than  it  was  in  1980?  A 
simple  question  to  ask.  Simple  question."  The  crux  of  the  matter  is  that 
the  current  state  of  the  city  is  anything  but  simple,  but  rather  a  frustrating 
conglomeration  of  corporate  interests,  private  interests,  academic  inter- 
ests, and  a  question  of  general  social  welfare  that  begs  a  deeper  investiga- 
tion. 

The  People's  Party  is  a  local  grass  roots  campaign  preparing  itself 
for  the  city  council  election  in  November  More  of  a  coalition  than  a  true 
political  party,  the  group  enlists  a  mixture  of  Democrats,  Republicans, 
Socialists,  and  anarchists  to  push  their  17-point  platform  that  urges  citi- 
zens' rights  and  participation  in  government.  I  spoke  with  campaign  man- 
ager Xavier  H&nsen  and  associate  Frank  Bright  at  the  party's  office  -  the 
basement  of  a  house  in  the  non-commercialized  region  of  the  city,  past 
the  office  buildings  and  the  pubs.  Describing  the  influx  of  corporate  in- 
terests at  the  expense  of  residential  territory,  Hansen  became  emphatic: 
"When  they  do  it  in  Yugoslavia  it's  called  ethnic  cleansing.  When  they  do 
it  in  New  Brunswick,  it's  called  redevelopment. ..but  what  it  is  is  the  mas- 
sive, continuos,  methodically  planned  destruction  of  communities  of 
people  of  color."  1  le  cited  the  example  of  the  Hyatt  Regency  hotel,  which 
sits  on  the  fornier  site  of  a  neighborhood  that  was  predominantly  African- 
.^merican. 


When  1  brought  up  sentiments  expres.sed  by  DEVCO  president 
Paladino,  Bright  was  not  impressed.  "What  I'm  saying  is  that  these  guys 
are  bullshitting  you."  "This  is  happening  in  every  urban  center  in  America," 
Hansen  added,  "Wherever  you  go,  there's  always  some  dominant  devel- 
opers and  corporate  partners  who  decided  in  the  early  '70s  to  take  back 
the  cities...  ."  He  speaks  confidently,  passionately,  when  describing  city 
government  corruption  in  the  late  '80s  that  led  to  the  prosecution  of  offi- 
cials ranging  from  the  law  director  to  the  chief  of  police.  "It's  the  same 
people  in  power  [now],  it's  just  different  names,  different  families." 

The  radical  rhetoric  is  infectious,  although  I  had  only  that  morning 
sat  in  Paladino's  office,  listening  to  him  dismiss  many  of  the  arguments 
that  I  would  hear  the  People's  Party  make  later  in  the  day.  Compare 
Hansen's  opinion,  for  instance  ("DEVCO  is  a  front  organization  for  the 
developer  and  banking  industry")  to  the  city  mayor's  own  stance  that 
appears  in  the  corporation's  info  packet  ("DEVCO  shares  New 


Hi  wick's  vision  of  a  dynamic  and  prosperous  city  where  develop- 
ivc,ii  is  paced  to  evolve  with  the  needs  and  elevated  standards  of  the 
people  who  live.  work,  and  play  here.").  The  People's  Party  line  is  a 
mixture  of  heartfelt  activism  and  paranoia.  Sitting  with  Hansen  and 
Bright,  it's  easy  to  imagine  local  government  as  a  despotic.  Fascist 
regime,  operating  solely  under  principles  of  corporate  advancement 
and  personal  interests.  Unfortunately,  buying  v\  hoieheartedly  into  this 
outlook  would  be  no  better  than  simply  accepting  the  current  urban 
redev  clopment  as  an  aesthetic  improvement  to  New  lirunsw  ick.  When 
1  asked  Paladino  if  he  believed  the  development  had  come  at  the  ex- 
pense of  something  else  (the  poor,  the  working  class,  etc.)  his  response 
was  vague:  "Not  in  any  great  part,  but  you  have  to  make  qualitative 
policies  of  what  you're  trying  to  accomplish.  And  I  think  as  long  as  the 
way  you  implement  those  policies  is  fair,  and  evcnhandcd." 

For  an  organization  that  has  such  a  large  hand  in  the  atTairs  of  the 
city,  questions  of  fairness  are  crucial.  Compare  the  racial  make-up  of 
the  city  (approximately  34  percent  black.  5 1  percent  white.  20  percent 
Hispanic  these  figures  might  var>  slightly  depending  on  the  source) 

to  the  board  of  direc- 
tors of  DEVCO  (one 
black  man  (a  Baptist 
minister),  no  Hispan- 
ics.  and  13  whites). 
Keep  in  mind.  also. 


are  nearly  impossible  to  decipher  at  times.  For  instance,  how  appli- 
cable docs  a  tenn  such  as  the  desires  of  our  residents  become  when  our 
residents  include  affluent  college  students,  workers  of  a  v  ariety  of  races, 
the  homeless  and  urban  businessmen?  Local  new  spaper  columnist  Dav  id 
Harris  sums  up  the  economic  situation  in  town  succinctly:  "Will  they 
nt)i  be  satisfied  until  we  agree  to  work  at  shoe-shine  stands  in  front  of 
up-scale  restaurants?"  Socialist  Professor  Norman  Markowitz  compared 
involvement  in  local  politics  to  "banging  your  head  against  the  wall." 
likening  Big  Business  to  the  Robber  Barons  of  the  late  1800s.  The  goal 
of  current  redevelopment  seems  to  be  bringing  a  new.  more  affluent 
population  into  the  city  limits.  This  cannot  be  faulted  in  and  of  itself - 
after  all.  one  cannot  expect  the  city  government  to  be  rallying  for  an 
increased  low-income,  unemployed,  or  homeless  population-but  the 
question  is  whether  or  not  adequate  services  are  being  prov  ided  for  the 
poor  that  already  liv  e  here,  and  have  liv  ed  here  for  many  years.  A  mul- 
titude of  upscale  establishments  have  set  down  roots  in  New  Brunsv\  ick 
within  the  past  years:  Northstar  (a  trendy  tapas  bar  with  myriad  marti- 
nis and  fruit  sangria).  Clyde's  (think  somber  lighting,  wood-paneling. 
Manhattan).  La  Fonlana  (bottles  of  w  inc.  some  of  which  top  the  charts 
at  close  to  S3,000).  At  the  same  time,  the  demolition  of  the  projects,  the 
Memorial  Homes  complex  a  mile  or  so  from  the  central  downtown 
area,  is  being  planned.  The  cardinal  sin  is  cheering  the  aesthetic  and 
economic  advancement  of  the  city  w  ithout  examining  the  social  status 
of  the  economically  disenfranchised-the  natural  residents  who  (to  most 


Center  Right:  Heading  into  one  of  New  Brunswick's  residential  area 
%/)/.  A  liquor  store  in  a  Hispanic  nelglibortiood 


that  new  appoint- 
ments to  the  board  of 
directors  are  chosen 
by  current  members 
of  the  board  who 
name  their  own  re- 
placements. DEVCO 
is  able  to  sidestep  this 
issue  because  it  is. 
first  and  foremost,  a 
CORPORATION, 
and  corporations  are  not  obligated  to  hold  open  elections  for  board 
members. 

What  do  the  people  ihcmscKcs  have  tt>  say'.'  The  People's  Partv 
held  a  sur\ey  of  residents  to  inquire  concerning  the  main  problems 
with  life  in  New  Brunswick.  They  gave  me  a  copy  of  three  such  sur- 
veys. A  certain  bias  must  be  observed,  considering  the  fact  that  1.000 
survey  forms  were  completed  in  total  and  most  comments  raised  trou- 
bling questions.  A  brief  sampling  involving  city  life,  economics  and 
the  police:  "They  [police)  would  always  slap  my  brother  in  the  face 
with  a  walkie  talkie. ..The  police  try  to  get  my  father  to  sell 
daigs.FUCK  STAREiUCKS.Some  development  in  our  community 
is  not  to  help  and  expand  our  communily.  it  is  to  move  us  out. ..Big 
business  should  not  control  small  businesses,  such  as  J&J  buving  up 
the  town...  ."  Witness  a  city  that  is  confused  about  its  own  idcntitv.  .A 
city  that  often  seems  unsure  of  its  motives,  its  population,  its  future  in 
any  sense  other  than  visually  and  corporately. 

I  he  politics  and  mission  statements  ol  the  city  of  New  Brunswick 


college  students,  for  example)  do  not  exist. 

"New  Brunswick's  always  been  kind  of  a  laboraton,  of  what  are 
trends  for  urban  redev  elopmenl."  DEVCO's  Paladino  explained.  "What 
we're  seeing  is  that  there's  a  real  coming  home  of  people  who  want  to 
live  in  cities  again.  1  think  over  the  next  five  years  there  will  be  a  tre- 
mendous amount  of  construction  and  housing.  That  will  only  bolster 
our  ability  to  attract  quality  retail.  I  certainly  see  in  the  next  five  years 
to  have,  you  know.  CiAP.  Banana  Republic..."  \'iewed  as  a  whole,  the 
concept  of  having  a  CiAP  five  blocks  away  from  the  site  of  a  public- 
housing  project  becomes  ludicrous.  .Xnd  the  homecoming  of  people 
who  are  once  again  desiring  urban  life  comes  at  the  expense  of  the 
poor  that  have  nev  er  had  a  choice. 

The  idea  behind  the  proposed  destruction  of  Memorial  Homes,  as 
explained  to  me  by  city  planner  (ilenn  Paterson.  is  that  studies  argue 
against  the  current  setup:  many  poor  residents  liv  ing  in  dense  high- 
rises,  slightly  removed  from  the  rest  of  the  urban  population.  The  goal, 
then,  is  to  redistribute  the  poor  into  mixed  income  neighborhoods,  w  here 
they  will  live  side  by  side  with  citi/cns  in  varied  economic  brackets. 
Ivmployment  amongst  the  poor  might  increase,  for  instance,  w  hen  thev 
hav  c  the  opportunity  to  make  job  contacts  in  a  neighbt>rhood  that  is  not 
entirely  financially  handicapped.  And  so  the  high-rises  will  disappear, 
and  new  homes  will  be  created  in  \  arious  parts  of  the  city.  The  problem 
is  one  of  numbers.  Take  Memorial  I  Ionics  (housing  somewhere  around 
24S  low-income  families)  and  compare  this  to  the  planned  construc- 
tion of  a  lower  number  of  mixed  income  housing  units.  This  means 
that  the  conversion  of  project  residents  into  the  mixed  income  neigh- 
borhoods will  not  be  100  percent  in  other  words,  some  people  will 
have  to  clu>ose  to  leave  town.  Paterson  explained  that  manv  residents, 
of  their  own  accord,  decide  to  return  to  the  places  they  were  bom.  or 


[economics] 


perhaps  move  residences  to  be  close  to  a  place  of  employment.  Vouch- 
ers are  given  to  substantially  aid  lower-income  residents  in  tniding  af- 
fordable housing-the  resident  pays  a  portion  of  the  rent,  and  the  gov- 
ernment picks  up  the  rest  of  the  tab. 

When  1  discussed  the  Memorial  Homes  situation  with  Dr.  Roy 
Epps,  a  member  of  the  Civic  League  of  New  Brunswick  (an  organiza- 
tion primarily  interested  in  civil  rights),  deeper  concerns  were  raised. 
Epps  was  an  early  member  of  the  DEVCO  board  of  directors,  and  he 
undertook  an  academic  study  of  urban  redevelopment  in  American  cit- 
ies that  included  Hartford,  Connecticut.  He  explained  that  the  public 
private  arrangement  in  New  Brunswick  was  modeled  after  a  similar, 
earlier  setup  in  Hartford,  referred  to  as  the  Hartford  Process.  Years  af- 
ter Epp's  study.  Hartford's  own  public  private  conglomerate  ran  aground 
-  they  evidently  needed  space  for  development,  and  were  planning  the 
removal  of  poor  residents  to  an  area  1  ?  miles  from  the  city  proper.  This 
is  not  to  suggest  that  New  Brunswick's  own  process  will  follow  identi- 
cal lines,  but  it  does  raise  questions  and  concern  about  development  in 
relation  to  the  poor.  The  Civic  League  has  filed  a  lawsuit  against  the 
city  in  relation  to  the  Memorial  Homes  demolition. 

A  three-minute  bicycle  ride  up  the  George  Street  corridor  will  take 
you  past  Starbucks,  an  upscale  Ethiopian  restaurant,  the  theater 
district. ..past  Remson  Avenue,  slightly  tarnished  residential  districts, 
over  two  blocks  to  the  Catholic  Charitv's  Men's  Shelter  for  the  home- 


less. CC  is  across  the  street  from  Elijah's  Promise,  a  soup  kitchen  that 
serves  meals  twice  daily.  I  spoke  with  the  shelter's  program  director. 
Wesley  R.  Moore,  in  relation  to  the  severe  split  between  rich  and  poor, 
the  status  of  the  homeless,  and  plans  for  the  future. 

It's  hard  not  to  notice  the  homeless  in  this  city.  At  night,  a  woman 
sleeps  the  late  hours  away  on  a  bench  several  blocks  down  from  my 
house.  During  the  day  she  often  pushes  a  baby  carriage  loaded  v\  ith 
blankets  around  the  streets.  Last  week  I  saw  two  cops  yelling  at  a  man 
on  the  street  comer  asking  for  change.  To  be  fair,  he  was  stopping  cars 
at  a  tralTic  light  with  his  plastic  cup.  but  their  response  was  harsher  than 
necessary,  ("You're  a  grown  man,  you're  panhandling!"  bringing  up 
familiar  sentiments  that  when  people  are  poor,  it's  something  they  de- 
serve, or  something  that  they've  brought  upon  themselves  in  every  in- 
stance). 

Months  ago  the  mayor's  public  relations  duector  had  informed 
me  that  the  city  has  a  very  small  homeless  population-an  opinion  that 
Moore  laughed  at.  He  said  the  shelter  was  "full  to  capacity,  with  one  on 
the  couch."  There  are  38  permanent  beds  as  well  as  two  emergency 
beds.  In  the  past,  the  emergency  beds  were  generally  utilized  in  the 
more  brutal  winter  months,  but  Moore  informed  me  that  the  situation 
has  worsened  within  the  past  two  years.  "We've  been  carrying  a  wait- 
ing list  right  through  the  summer  months. ..we  get  full  to  capacity  with 
a  waiting  list..." 

The  shelter  is  designed  to  help  all  residents  of  Middlesex  County, 
although  the  majority  of  them  (200+  out  of  391  men  aided  in  the  past 
year)  are  from  New  Biiinswick.  The  goal  is  to  promote  self-sufficiency 
and  employment;  Catholic  Charities  requires  that  all  residents  deposit 
60  percent  of  their  earnings  in  a  holding  fund,  to  create  savings  that  can 
be  used  to  tlnd  living  quarters.  "There  are  times  when  they  [the  resi- 


dents] are  ready  to  move  on,  but  there's  no  affordable  housing,"  Moore 
explained,  citing  also  the  fact  that  off-campus  college  students  drive 
up  the  rent  prices  in  town.  Rutgers  is  definitely  a  large  part  of  the  prob- 
lem equation  in  town,  and  what  1  discovered  time  and  time  again  was 
general  dissatisfaction  with  the  university's  commitment  to  the  com- 
munity-at-large.  "We  don't  get  anything  from  RU.  as  far  as  any  kind  of 
donation  or  assistance,  not  at  all...J&J  play  their  part. ..but  not  Rutgers," 
Moore  said.  Dr.  Epps  of  the  Civic  League  also  complained  of  Rutger's' 
lack  of  involvement,  most  notably  m  regard  to  the  struggling  New 
Brunswick  public  school  system.  Professor  Steven  Lawson,  chair  of 
the  history  department  at  Rutgers  College,  shared  his  opinions  on  city 
life  in  relation  to  corporations  and  the  university.  "J&J  was  talking 
about  pulling  out  of  town,  and  some  things  were  done.. .which  also 
included  putlnig  up  the  hotel,  the  Hyatt  Regency.. .they  were  very  in- 
strumental in  convincing  the  city  fathers  and  mothers  to  put  up  a 
hotel . .  .of  course  it  meant  displacement  of  poor  people."  He  mentioned 
the  fact  that  the  Rutgers  administrators  advise  professors  with  children 
not  to  live  in  New  Brunswick,  generally  because  of  the  poor  public 
school  system.  "Where  in  this  university,"  he  asked,  "if  any  place,  is 
there  a  mission  to  work  with  that  area  of  the  community  that  is  ill- 
housed,  ill-fed  and  ill- 
clothed''" 

Poor  Rutgers... no 
one  I  spoke  to  seemed 


very  fond  of  the  uni\  er- 
sity  (nationally  known, 
unfortunately,  for  hav- 
ing a  president  who 
made  mention  of  cer- 
tain genetic  disadvan- 
tages blacks  have  in  re- 
lation to  intelligence), 
including  DEVCO, 
who  mentioned  the 

school's  reluctance  to  take  part  in  any  redevelopment  atTairs.  Rutgers 
occupies  a  great  deal  of  land  in-town,  and  with  a  student  population  of 
34,761  ( 1998  figures,  although  keep  in  mind  these  include  nonresident 
commuters)  they  provide  an  enormous  inllux  of  residents.  Oddly,  many 
city  organizations  have  seemed  to  take  Rutgers  as  a  kind  of  catch-all 
scapegoat  and  punching  bag,  and  I'm  unsure  how  much  of  this  criti- 
cism is  valid,  or  a  simple  game  of  hot  potato  involving  responsibility. 
The  college  community  can  take  the  blame  for  raising  rent  prices,  for 
instance,  in  order  to  explain  the  difficulties  in  finding  affordable  hous- 
ing w  ithin  New  Brunswick.  The  status  of  college  students  in  the  city  is 
also  questionable;  despite  being  a  sizable  chunk  of  the  population,  I 
was  infonned  that  the  New  Brunswick  webpage  formally  referred  to 
resident  students  as  guests.  And  when  DEVCO 's  Paladino  discussed 
the  displacement  of  residential  areas  downtown  to  make  way  for  busi- 
ness development,  he  assured  me  that  most  of  the  displaced  were  col- 
lege students,  as  if  this  were  a  lesser  offense.  The  confluence  of  the 
academic  worid,  the  business  world,  and  the  public  world,  then,  only 
complicates  matters.  Add  to  this  the  general  student  ignorance  of  the 
residential  community  in  town,  and  you  have  a  situation  in  which  two 


[economics] 


diverse  populations  live  side  by  side,  unaware  of  each  other  (not  to  men- 
tion ditficultics  encountered  when  factoring  in  the  police  force,  which 
faces  opposition  from  both  ends  of  town. ..and  with  two  officers  currently 
up  on  charges  of  drug-trafficking  and  the  operation  of  brothels,  this  forms 
another  story  entirely...).  I  recall  a  friend  of  mine  who  ventured  down- 
town to  the  post  office  to  drop  ofl'a  letter,  and  was  literally  shocked  to 
find  that  real  people  live  in  the  city.  The  reaction  isn't  uncommon.  There 
is  a  clear  di\  iding  line  between  acadcmia  and  residential  life.  (Dr.  Epps 
described  it  as  the  other  side  of  the  tracks,  an  accurate  description  since 
the  city  is  literally  cut  in  two  by  railroad  Imes  that  divide  the  collegiate 
from  the  private.) 

Overall  student  involvement  in  the  city  of  New  Brunswick  is  also 
minimal,  which  is  not  to  say  that  political  activism  does  not  run  rampant. 
The  steps  of  the  cafeteria  are  often  taken  up  by  rallies,  protests,  and 
speeches.  Mumia  Abu  Jamal  is  a  favorite,  as  is  the  WTO.  This  kind  of 
activism  is  not  to  be  derided,  but  what  is  amazing  is  the  general  ignorance 
of  real  problems  a  mere  10  blocks  away:  not  intangible  poor  people  in  a 

foreign  country, 
but  actual  poor 
residents  living 
within  a  three  mile 
radius  of  the  pro- 
tests themselves. 
Criticism  of  local 


break  by  the  city  government  in  the  1970s,  local  residents  are  forced  to 
move  from  their  homes  and  relocate.  "The  problem  we're  stuck  with  is  a 
philosophical  debate  between  is  capitalism  good  or  evil?"  Gillespie  said. 
"When  you  strip  away  the  rhetoric,  you're  looking  at  socialism  versus 
capitalism.  Philosophically,  the  problem  with  capitalism  is  that  it's  based 
on  selfishness. 

Philosophically,  the  plus  about  socialism  is  that  its  devoted  to  the 
problem  of  equal  distribution  of  wealth. ..which  sounds  fair.,  the  catch  is 
that  recent  history  has  shown  socialism  doesn't  work.  Without  the  profit 
motive,  things  grind  to  a  halt."  As  Prof  Cjillespic  suggests,  I  believe  the 
primary  conflict  is  not  the  city  residents  vs.  the  city  government  -  it  in- 
volves an  entire  system  of  beliefs  that  affects  the  whole  of  the  countrv, 
and  has  affected  the  country  since  early  in  its  inception. 

Are  there  se\  ere,  deep-rooted  problems?  Most  definitely.  Does  city 
government  always  work  in  the  best  interests  of  the  people,  the  citizens 
within  the  town  limits?  This  is  a  difficult  question,  especially  in  the  mod- 
em urban  center,  where  there  is  no  single  set  of  best  interests  shared  by  an 
entire  population.  An  issue  of  power  is  definitely  at  stake.  One  would 
never  imagine  the  residents  of  another  university  town,  i.e.  Princeton, 
New  Jersey  (think  ivy,  stone  walls.  atHluent  beyond  normal  bounds)  be- 
ing asked  to  relocate  or  leave  town  to  make  room  for  construction  inter- 
ests and  corporate  development.  "It's  a  tale  of  two  cities,"  Professor 
Lawson  said,  "like  many  of  these  cities  in  America  are  now.. .but  you 
know,  a  hundred  vears  aao  in  NYC  it  was  also  a  tale  of  two  cities,  the 


^ioi/e- Monument  Square 
Center  Starbucks 
Right:  George  St.  at  night. 


government  claim 
that  city  officials 
try  to  discourage 
student  involve- 
ment in  local  poli- 
tics as  much  as 
possible  -  voting 
booths  that  used  to 
be  on  campus  have  since  been  moved  to  a  remote  location,  the  where- 
abouts of  which  most  people  arc  unaware  of 

"The  facts  are  the  same  whether  you  talk  to  DEVCO  or  the  People's 
Campaign,"  Professor  Angus  Ciillespie  tells  me,  "it's  how  you  interpret 
the  I'acts."  Sage  advice,  and  especially  difficult  when  looking  at  the  im- 
mensity of  a  city:  factions  each  pursuing  their  own  agenda,  data  spun  this 
way  and  that,  used  to  prove  a  million  disparate  points.  "I've  lived  in  New 
Brunswick  for  13  years.  I've  worked  on  city  goveminent,  and  I  don't 
have  all  the  answers  either,"  (iillespie  added.  There  is  the  temptation,  that 
romance  of  radicalism,  that  WDuld  make  it  easy  to  rail  against  authonlv  in 
the  city,  to  label  the  goveminent  as  corporate  whores,  to  point  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  Starbucks  coffee  shop  as  a  sign  of  social  Armageddon.  I 
believe,  in  the  end.  the  accurate  judgement  call  falls  somewhere  between 
outrage  and  acceptance.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  city  of  New  Bninsw  ick. 
like  so  many  other  urban  centers  in  America,  has  fallen  prey  to  some 
degree  to  the  theory  of  Social  Darwinism.  The  history  of  this  country  has 
been  built  on  the  advancement  of  business,  from  the  very  day  that  the 
Constitutional  Amendment  that  was  designed  to  give  blacks  civil  rights 
was  instead  primarily  used  to  give  CORPORAflONS  rights  as  human 
bcinns.  While  Johnson  &.  Johnson,  lor  instance,  is  m\en  an  extensive  lax 


very  rich,  and  the  extremely  poor.. .cities  attract  ver)  rich  people  who 
want  culture,  who  want  entertainment,  who  want  social  life  -  and  they 
attract  very  poor  people  who  are  going  to  prov  ide  the  work,  the  labor,  so 
that  the  rich  people  can  have  these  things."  Working  within  the  bound- 
aries of  the  American  system,  then,  one  reaches  certain  limitations.  Radi- 
cal groups  spin  conspiracy  theories  and  the  corporate  leaders  scolYat  them. 
Who  to  believe?  Where  to  begin? 

lO/OH/OO:  In  my  aiiic  now.  typing  this,  not  entirely  satisfied  with  all 
findings.  So  many  snapsliots  lliat  sum  tliis  all  up  -  the  man  ne.xt  door  to 
the  valet-parking  Italian  restaurant,  the  one-legged  man  who  begs  for 
change  with  crutches  and  a  paper  cup.  the  way  people  gather  their  words 
before  they  speak... afraid  to  say  the  wrong  thing,  wan  of  the  tape  re- 
corder rolling  on  the  desk,  a  waiting  list  for  a  bed  at  Catholic  Charities, 
a  wailing  list  for  a  table  at  Clyde  s  martini  bar.  a  new  population  desiring 
to  work  and  play  in  cities  again,  the  theater  district,  the  quiet  campus 
quads,  the  Rarilan  River.  Remson  Avenue  where  there  are pmblems  with 
crack,  driving  to  the  liquor  store  to  buy  alcohol  with  fake  IDs.  drive-by 
shootings  four  blocks  away,  lu.xuiy  hotels,  the  men  who  had  se.x  with  pros- 
titutes beneath  the  back  patio  at  the  office  when'  I  worked  this  summer, 
four  dollars  for  a  cup  of  coffee,  restaurants  when'  they  only  .ipeak  Span- 
ish, my  e.x-girlfriend's  neighborhood  with  black  graffiti  "THE  END  IS 
SE.\R  "  on  a  fence,  fights  spilling  (ml  of  the  college  bar  ne.xt  to  my  hou-ie. 
the  way  DEl'CO's  prcsulcnt  dismissed  his  opposition  as  The  People's 
IVorker's  Revolufionaiy  Communist  Party,  laughing,  local  officials  .tent 
to  fail  in  the  '<S()s.  photographs  of  abandoned  ghetto  stn-eis.  multinational 
corporations,  five  dinners  consisting  of  pork  that  comes  in  a  can.  a  true 
working  partnership  between  business  and  government... 


[economics] 


Money  Changes  Everything 


If  one  was  given  a  free  piece  of  land,  many  square  miles,  and  then 
handed  millions  of  dollars  to  de\  elop  a  modem  urban  center,  the  outcome 
would  be  obvious.  The  goal  would  be  to  beautify  the  area,  bring  in  corpo- 
rate interests,  build  luxury  townhouses.  attract  a  population  that  wants  to 
spend  money,  orchestrate  a  theater  district  and  a  restaurant  district  that 
rivals  Manhattan,  albeit  on  a  lesser  scale.  The  problem  is  when  this  saine 
goal  is  undertaken  in  a  city  that  is  not  a  blank  slate,  but  rather  a  long- 
standing district  of  many  faces,  many  economic  brackets,  many  lifestyles. 
New  Brunswick.  I  am  sure,  is  not  unique  -  its  problems  arc  the  problems 
facing  urban  centers  across  America.  If  the  upper  classes  fled  the  city 
years  ago,  leaving  the  poor  to  subsist  on  their  own.  what  happens  when 
those  selfsame  upper  classes  suddenly  have  the  desire  for  the  cosmopoli- 
tan urban  life  again?  Difficulties  arise  vshen  the  terminology  becomes 
vague:  our  best  interests,  our  advancement,  our  successes.  How  to  mark 
progress  when  there  is  no  we.  but  rather  an  intangible  collective,  rich  and 
poor,  black,  white.  European.  Hispanic,  looking  for  work  or  trading  stocks, 
all  walking  the  same  streets'?    i^ 


An  index  of  Interv  icwees: 

CHRIS  PALADIXO  :  Middle-aged  white  male.  President  of  New  Brunswick  De- 
velopment Corporation.  Lawyer. 

STEVEN  LAll'SOX:  Middle-aged  white  male.  Chair  of  History  Department  at 
Rutgers  University.  Rutgers  College.  Specialties  include  the  issue  of  ci\il  rights. 
Resident  oFMetuchen.  a  town  in  vicinity  of  New  Brunswick. 
WESLEY  MOORE:  Middle-aged  African  .American  male.  Program  director  for  the 
Catholic  Charity's  Men's  Shelter. 

DR.  ROYEPPS:  Leader  of  the  Civic  League  of  New  Brunswick. 
NORMAN  MARKOWITZ:  Middle-aged  white  male.  History  professor  Former  resi- 
dent of  New  Brunswick,  now  resides  at  the  Jersey  shore.  Teaches  from  a  Socialist 
perspecti\c. 

ANGUS  GILLESPIE:  White  male.  Former  otTice  holder  in  New  Brunswick.  Cur- 
rent member  of  the  Board  of  Education.  Teacher  in  the  American  Studies  depart- 
ment of  Rutgers. 

GLENN  PATTERSON:  While  male.  Planner  for  the  city  of  New  Brunswick. 
XAVIER  HANSEN  &  FRANK  BRIGHT:  Xavier  is  of  eastern  European  descent.  1 
believe.  I  forgot  to  inquire  about  his  accent.  Frank  is  a  white  male  in  his  late  20s. 
Frank  also  holds  elected  otTice  for  the  local  Republican  party.  They  both  are  orga- 
nizing for  the  People's  Party  campai  gn.  elections  to  be  held  November  7. 


[economics] 


Money  as  Freedom 

by  J.  Gerlach 


Money  has  always  meant 

freedom  to  me.  Right  from  the  start. 
the  income  I  earned  mowing  lawns  and  deliv- 
ering newspapers  was  treated  as  savings,  a 
defense  against  having  to  rely  on  anyone  else. 
This  freedom  was  purely  hypothetical  while  I 
was  still  a  teenager,  living  at  home  and  de- 
pending on  my  parents,  but  it  was  somehow 
inherent  in  iny  early  ways.  So  instead  of 
spending  money  as  quickly  as  I  earned  it.  as 
most  of  my  friends  did,  I  socked  it  away  ... 
literally,  in  a  dresser  drawer  under  the  socks. 
I  figured  someday  I  would  need  that  money 
for  something  much  more  important,  like  tak- 
ing a  trip  to  Africa  or  starting  a  bicycle  repair 
shop.  When  that  time  came,  I  wanted  to  be 
able  to  do  it  -  anything,  without  having  to 
compromise  my  life  or  depend  on  anyone  else. 
1  didn't  know  exactly  how  much  freedom 
might  cost  but  1  figured  it  had  to  be  expen- 
sive. 

My  dad  is  a  capitalist  businessman.  These 
are  the  first  tcmis  I  \\  ould  use  to  describe  him. 
He  has  bought  into  the  American  capitalist  sys- 
tem, worked  hard  to  understand  it  and  been 
successful  v\ithin  that  system.  While  my  sis- 
ter, brother  and  I  were  young,  my  dad  began 
putting  some  of  the  money  he  was  making  into 
the  stock  market  in  each  of  our  names.  He  in- 
vested in  our  future  so  that  each  of  us  w  ould 
escape  ha\  ing  to  take  out  loans  for  the  pri\  i- 
lege  of  a  private  university  education.  Due  to 
my  dad's  foresight  and  some  luck,  we  were 
able  to  avoid  going  into  debt  before  we  had 
our  first  full-time  job.  Staying  out  of  debt  is 
key  in  having  freedom.  For  many  of  my  peers, 
these  student  loans  are  where  their  personal 
debt  began,  a  hole  some  of  them  are  still  dig- 
ging out  of  10  years  later. 

When  1  got  out  of  college.  I  had  no  con- 
crete ideas  about  what  1  wanted  to  do  with  my 
life.  I  did  know  that  I  wanted  some  freedom 
from  the  demands  of  the  system.  I  yearned  to 
know  what  it  was  like  to  spend  more  of  my 
time  doing  v\  hat  I  vv  anted  to  do  instead  of  what 
the  system  said  I  was  supposed  to  do.  Navi- 
gating through  school  without  much  difficulty, 
I  had  always  felt  that  there  had  to  be  some- 
thing more.  1  wanted  to  try  and  find  it.  My 
employinent  experience  during  college  had 
consisted  mostly  of  restaurant  work  where  the 
varied  schedule  and  quick  cash  had  allowed 
me  a  relative  amount  of  freedom.  1  figured 
out  that  I  could  make  enough  money  waiting 
tables  to  live  and  still  have  lots  of  time  to  do 
vv  hat  1  wanted.  So,  once  graduation  day  came 
and  went,  most  of  my  peers  went  off  in  search 
of  big  money  jobs  in  tall,  glass  buildings  in 
Chicago,  New  York  or  Boston  while  I  settled 
into  a  decent  money  job  waiting  tables  full- 


Mu.  .1  downtown  restaurant.  The  work  was 
niiL',  physically  and  mcntalh.  but  I  tbimd  it 
c;imc  fairly  naturally,  especially  compared  to  my 
short  mind-and-body-numbing  stints  in  ofllcc 
settings.  I  had  no  trouble  keeping  my  expenses 
downand  accepting  the  college-esque  living  set- 
up (futon  on  the  lloor,  milk  crate  shelving,  etc.) 
as  completely  adequate  for  my  needs.  1  ate  at 
work  or  cooked  big  pots  of  beans  and  rice  for 
the  week.  I  passed  on  cars  and  became  dedicated 
to  bicycling  as  my  main  mode  of  transportation. 
1  found  that  my  initial  instincts  were  true;  it  was 
possible  to  li\e  the  way  1  wanted  to.  within  the 
system,  without  buying  into  the  belief  tiiat  it 
w  ould  take  large  amounts  of  money  to  be  happy. 
0\  er  the  ne,\t  ten  years  1  was  able  to  take  fre- 
quent breaks  froin  employment;  traveling  exten- 
sively, playing  in  bands,  reading,  writing  and 
visiting  friends,  all  because  1  had  the  freedom 
of  money  in  the  bank. 

Investment 

1  held  a  small  bank  account  for  years  with 
just  enough  of  a  balance  to  cover  the  one  or  two 
checks  a  month  I  needed  for  rent  and  car  insur- 
ance. For  the  rest  of  my  sa\  ings.  1  reverted  to 
my  old  ways  and  stuffed  my  tip  money  in  my 
socks.  Eventually  my  nervousness  about  losing 
a  big  wad  of  cash  to  thieves  or  tire  led  me  to 
think  of  options  outside  of  the  sock  drawer.  The 
stock  market  had  always  seemed  unimportant 
and  bornig  to  me  but  I  remembered  how  my  fa- 
ther had  prepared  for  the  future  by  investing  so 
1  went  to  him  for  advice.  He  recommended  a 
few  mutual  funds  that  had  a  good  history  of  re- 
turns and  told  me  how  easy  it  was  to  invest.  1 
ended  up  doing  some  hasty  research  on  his  rec- 
ommendations before  spreading  my 
small,  savcd-up  sum  between  a 
couple  of  low  risk  funds.  At  the 
time,  I  never  really  thought  about 
where  that  money  was  going  or 
what  it  inight  be  endorsing.  I  was 
happy  to  watch  my  money  increase 
in  \  aluc.  making  considerably  more 
than  a  bank  account  would  yield, 
without  having  to  do  anything.  If  I 
ever  needed  money,  there  would  be 
more  than  ent)ugh.  I  wi)uld  be  able 
to  put  out  m)  ow  n  publications  and 
music  projects  without  worrying 
about  falling  into  debt.  1  wouldn't 
have  to  compromise  my  beliefs  or 
take  a  job  that  I  hated  in  order  to 
hve  the  way  I  wanted  to.  1  would 
still  be  able  to  take  the  winters  off 
and  hit  the  road,  it  would  be  the 
closest  1  could  come  to  freedom. 

Hut,  like  most  other  20-some- 
ihing,  socially  aware,  non-main- 
streaiTi  kids  from  upper  middle- 
class  backgrounds.  I  felt  sort  of 
guilty  about  not  being  poor.  Most 
everyone  1  hung  out  with  in  the 
punk,  counterculture,  whatever- 
you-want-to-call-it  scene  com 


plained  about  being  broke  all  the  time  and 
blamed  it  on  the  man.  My  peers  had  nothing  nice 
to  say  about  anyone  w  ith  mone\  but  these  kids 
were  doing  the  same  thing  with  their  income  that 
my  college  graduate  peers  were  doing  -spend- 
ing it  on  stutT.  Maybe  they  made  a  great  deal 
less  than  my  old  friends  but  they  still  had  im- 
pressive record  collections  and  hefty  bar  tabs. 
These  kids  were  mostly  white,  middle-class 
products  who  chose  not  to  forfeit  their  young 
adult  years  to  corporate  America.  They  w  ere  able 
to  live  the  way  they  wanted  to  within  the  rela- 
tively safe  confines  of  a  quirky  midwestem  city, 
but  did  they  really  expect  to  be  rich  too?  And 
weren't  we  supposed  to  be  living  in  opposition 
to  the  commercialism  and  hyper-consumerism 
olthe  mainstream?  But  there  we  were,  spend- 
ing whatever  we  made  on  our  own  versions  of 
needs.  There  are  so  inany  ways  our  culture  pro- 
motes the  earn  and  spend  lifestyle;  focusing  on 
acquiring  things  as  a  means  to  happiness,  em- 
phasizing standard  schooling  as  a  means  to  get- 
ting a  good  job.  Success  is  measured  almost 
solely  in  dollar  figures.  Without  money,  you  arc 
unimportant  and  powerless  vsithin  the  system. 
We  need  more  of  a  dialogue  on  ways  that  money 
can  be  used  for  broader,  positive  means.  I  am  a 
product  of  the  American  capitalist  system  and 
have  reaped  the  benefits  of  that  system  for  my 
w  hole  life;  how  can  1  use  these  benefits  to  make 
things  better? 

As  the  years  went  by.  I  continued  to  ques- 
tion the  system  that  i  had  been  raised  and  con- 
ditioned in.  It  took  me  a  long  time  to  address 
the  issues  I  always  had  inside  me  -  questions 
about  why  our  society  was  considered  the  best 
while  1  saw  so  much  unhappiness.  prejudice  and 


injustice  around  me;  questions  about  the  blatant 
contradictions  betw  een  our  rhetoric  and  actions. 
Almost  everyone  seemed  to  be  looking  out  for 
his  or  herself  and  this  is  a  product  of  our  Ameri- 
can capitalistic  system,  a  system  that  emphasizes 
the  bottom  line,  often  w  hile  compromising  other 
concerns.  We  sacrifice  the  env  ironment.  human 
rights  and  our  health  in  order  to  make  inore 
money.  More  money  means  more  happiness, 
more  comfort,  more  convenience.  More  people 
are  supposedly  well  ofTin  .America  today  than 
ever  before,  but  more  and  more  people  seem 
unhappy,  unhealthy  and  selfish.  More.  more, 
more.  Our  answers  to  social  problems  are  more 
laws  and  increased  taxes  for  more  government 
spending.  Time  w  ith  family  members  decreases 
as  we  spend  at  least  half  of  our  waking  hours  at 
work  and  another  few  hours  sitting  in  a  car.  We 
spend  billions  of  dollars  on  a  bigger  army  to 
defend  the  American  Way  by  keeping  foreign 
markets  open.  We  approve  more  and  more 
spending  for  prison  construction  and  the  war  on 
drugs,  attempting  to  clean  up  the  ctTccts  of  the 
problems  instead  of  attacking  the  social  and  eco- 
noinic  causes.  Our  national  politicians  arc 
power-hungry  movers  and  shakers  that  answer 
to.  and  are  a  product  of,  big  money.  If  you  end 
up  having  to  deal  with  the  American  judicial 
system,  your  chances  of  getting  olT  are  greatly 
increased  if  you  can  pay  big  time  lawyers. 

When  1  discuss  these  things  with  my  peers, 
they  usually  agree.  Yes.  they  say.  we  could  im- 
prove  our  societv.  but  they  qualify  their  com- 
plaints with  the  idea  that  it  is  still  better  than 
living  in  Ethiopia.  Yugoslavia  or  even  Canada. 
They  say  this  is  still  the  best  system,  the  best 
country  to  live  in.  Democratic  capitalism  beat 


Fig  /►/:   hnti^Capitilist 


Fi^  i-2:  CdpiUiisi 


communism,  but  does  that 
mean  we  shouldn't  be  address- 
ing serious  flaws  and  question- 
ing accumulation?  By  reaping 
the  rewards  of  the  most  ad- 
vanced society  ever,  shouldn't 
we  have  the  responsibility  to 
improve  the  world  instead  of 
taking  more  and  more  from  it? 

As  they  got  older,  more 
and  more  of  my  peers  bought 
into  the  system  and  acquired  credit  cards,  made 
payments  on  new  cars  and  home  furnishings. 
They  rationalized  these  practices  -  "I  need  a  big 
car  for  the  dogs  and  this  isn't  even  the  biggest 
one  they  had."  or,  "I  hate  that  big.  gross  store 
but  it  is  .so  convenient."  We  ail  make  choices  in 
hfe  and  I'm  not  here  to  judge  how  someone  else 
spends  their  money  since  I  can't  expect  respect 
for  my  own  choices  if  I  am  telling  others  how  to 
live,  but  I  realize  that  just  driving  to  the  local 
co-ops  and  recycling  my  empty  beer  bottles  isn't 
enough  if  I  expect  any  change  in  the  system.  If  I 
want  to  feel  comfortable  about  participating  in 
the  system  then  I  have  to  feel  right  about  the 
ways  in  which  I  do  it.  Within  capitalism,  one  of 
the  obvious  methods  to  effect  change  is  m  the 
way  you  spend  your  money. 

I  hate  that  money  is  so  important.  If  it  vscrc 
up  to  me,  I  would  be  as  self-sufllcient  as  pos- 
sible and  use  the  barter  system  for  the  other 
things  I  need.  I  would  live  in  a  city  comprised 
of  loose  communities  and  free  of  cars,  where 
one's  ambition  did  not  come  at  the  expense  of 
someone  else's  well-being,  but  we  live  in  a  very 
different  society.  Our  system  has  its  roots  in  self- 
ishness and  it  controls  almost  every  facet  of  our 
lives.  We  support  it  with  our  dollars.  However,  I 
think  it  is  possible  to  operate  within  that  system 
while  still  incorporating  your  own  belief  sys- 
tem and  'effecting  change  in  your  own  ways.  This 
means  shopping  small  stores  if  you  are  alarmed 
by  the  increasing  corporate  takeover  and  its  re- 
sulting fewer  choices.  It  means  rejecting  the 
barrage  of  advertising  and  the  lure  of  consumer 
culture  and  deciding  that  we  don't  need  these 
things.  We  need  to  pay  attention  to  what  is  go- 
ing on  in  our  coinmunities,  talk  with  neighbors 
and  attend  meetings  if  we  want  to  participate 
positively.  If  we  all  worked  less  and  spent  more 
time  at  home  with  our  children  or  working  on 
projects  with  friends,  wc  could  positively  alter 
the  concept  of  a  good  standard  of  living.  Wc 
shouldn't  be  afraid  to  decide  for  ourselves  what 
is  important  in  our  lives,  even  if  it  seems  that 
the  media  and  the  powers  that  be  are  telling  us 
something  completely  different.  No  one  is  per- 
fect -  we  all  succumb  to  the  barrage  of  advertis- 
ing and  the  convenience  of  modern  society  at 
times  but  there  is  no  reason  to  buy  into  it  hook, 
line  and  sinker. 

Eventually,  1  realized  the  money  I  had  been 
blindly  investing,  although  a  paltry  sum  by  over- 
all standards,  was  endorsing  things  I  didn't  be- 
lieve in.  Just  like  the  products  I  bought  and  the 
stores  I  spent  my  money  in,  the  dollar  was  my 
small  vote.  I  needed  to  pay  attention  and  recog- 


I  hate  that  money  is  so  important.  If  it  were  up  to 
me,  I  would  be  as  self-sufficient  as  possible  and 
use  the  barter  system  for  the  other  things  I  need.  I 
would  live  in  a  city  comprised  of  loose  communi- 
ties and  free  of  cars,  where  one's  ambition  did  not 
come  at  the  expense  of  someone  else's  well-being, 
but  we  live  in  a  very  different  society. 


nize  that  my  complaints  about  the  system 
couldn't  be  taken  seriously  while  I  was  making 
money  off  of  the  worst  parts  of  it.  Ignoring  this 
responsibility  is  easy.  It  is  no  accident  that  the 
money  we  put  into  banks,  stocks  and  mutual 
funds  is  immediately  infused  into  a  complex  fi- 
nancial system  and  becomes  hard  to  trace.  Cash 
is  converted  into  figures  and  housed  in  databases 
and  financial  statements  which  are  too  complex 
for  the  average  person  to  digest.  Once  it  is  taken 
out  of  its  physical  context,  this  money  becomes 
easier  to  control  and  manipulate,  filtered  through 
multi-national  conglomerates  into  all  sorts  of  dif- 
ferent sectors  and  companies.  .As  long  as  com- 
panies return  a  portion  of  the  profits  in  the  fomi 
of  cash  dividends  or  higher  stock  prices,  the  av- 
erage investor  doesn't  question  the  actual  prac- 
tices of  these  companies.  We  are  so  numbed  by 
the  huge  dollar  figures  that  we  don't  think  about 
our  small  contribution  having  any  real  efi'ect  but, 
by  investing  your  money  in  a  company,  you  are 
endorsing  whatever  business  practices  that  com- 
pany uses  in  order  to  turn  a  profit  -  the  bottom 
line.  1  was  examining  the  prospectus  of  a  mu- 
tual fund  I  had  invested  m  and  noticed  that  Gen- 
eral Electric  is  one  of  their  biggest  holdings.  GE 
is  a  company  that  makes  a  lot  of  its  money  froin 
defense  contracts.  I  hate  that  our  military  is  .so 
huge  and  disagree  with  almost  every  military 
action  and  didn't  want  to  be  endorsing  this  in 
any  way. 

Making  Choices 

I  don't  believe  my  vote  in  November  is 
going  to  make  any  difference  -  it  won't  alter  the 
system's  course.  1  believe  that  how  we  spend 
our  money,  day  after  day,  matters.  If  we  all 
stopped  going  to  McDonald's  then  eventually  it 
would  disappear  -  it's  simple  economics,  sup- 
ply and  demand.  Money  is  your  vote.  If  I  am 
going  to  invest  my  money  in  a  system  I'm  skep- 
tical of,  then  1  should  at  least  make  sure  my  in- 
vestment is  helping  to  make  changes.  I  should 
be  supportmg  companies  that  arc  producing 
goods  and  services  that  1  can  get  behind  and 
operating  in  a  way  that  isn't  harmful.  I  should 
be  paying  attention  to  what  the  companies  1  am 
invested  in  are  doing,  using  my  shareholder  votes 
to  influence  their  decisions.  These  are  personal 
judgment  calls  that  1  should  be  prepared  to  fol- 
low up  on.  I  don't  want  to  support  war,  discrimi- 
nation or  cruelty  to  animals  so  I  shouldn't  be 
investing  in  any  mutual  funds  that  are  indirectly 
making  money  off  of  these  practices. 

"No  one  in  American  society  today  can 
escape  our  economic  system.  You  have  to  eat; 


you  have  to  clothe  yourself;  you  have  to  have 
shelter.  These  essentials  are  all  provided  by  a 
system  built  on  investment  capital.  Sure,  you  can 
grow  your  own  food,  weave  your  own  cloth,  and 
build  your  own  lean-to,  but  the  pollution  in  the 
air,  the  contamination  of  the  water,  and  the  noise 
of  an  industrial  society  keeps  you  connected  to 
the  system.  Purity  becomes  a  moot  point.  Re- 
sponsible invesdng  seeks  to  exert  maximum 
economic  pressure  within  the  system  to  produce 
the  greatest  benefit  for  all  society,  not  just  one 
segment  of  it."  ' 

Money  is  a  touchy  subject.  I  understand  the 
argument,  used  by  myself  at  times,  that  it  is  all 
evil  -  that  participating  in  the  system  and  mak- 
ing a  profit  at  all  is  wrong.  But  what  are  today's 
real  alternatives?  Most  of  the  world  today  is 
striving  towards  some  form  of  capitalism.  Why 
not  use  the  power  we  have  as  citizens  in  the 
greatest  of  capitalist  countries  to  make  a  differ- 
ence? When  you  put  your  paycheck  in  a  big 
bank,  you  are  allowing  that  bank  to  use  your 
money  to  make  more  money  in  whatever  way 
they  choose.  Many  of  these  banks,  like  most 
capitalist  investors,  invest  in  any  area  that  will 
provide  the  greatest  return  on  the  principal.  They 
aren't  usually  asking  about  minority  hiring  poli- 
cies or  whether  they  use  sweat  shop  labor.  We 
can't  complain  about  the  erosion  of  control  in 
our  lives  if  we  aren't  willing  to  actively  support 
alternatives.  If  we  truly  want  a  better  world  to 
live  in  then  we  have  to  effect  change  in  our  own 
ways,  whatever  our  circumstances  happen  to  be. 

When  I  thought  about  how  I  was  investing 
my  money,  I  felt  stupid  for  not  actively  being 
more  involved.  I  did  some  research  and  came 
across  a  couple  of  books  on  socially  responsible 
investing.  This  tenn  simply  means  investing  in 
companies  that  weigh  factors  like  human  rights, 
morality  and  the  environment  when  making 
business  decisions  instead  of  sacrificing  these 
interests  for  the  greatest  profit.  I  leanied  that 
there  were  dozens  of  socially  responsible  mu- 
tual funds  that  worked  just  like  the  ones  I  was 
already  invested  in,  except  that  they  were  mak- 
ing attempts  to  screen  out  the  especially  evil 
parts  of  the  system. 

Socially  Responsible  Investing 

Arising  from  environmental  concerns,  the 
unrest  of  the  60s  and  increasing  human  rights 
consciousness,  socially  responsible  investing 
emerged  as  a  viable  concept.  Churches,  univer- 
sities and  community  organizations  decided  they 
couldn't  be  fighting  social  wrongs  within  their 
institutions  while  they  were  investing  their  hold- 
ings in  companies  that  practiced  these  inequi- 
ties. Just  because  they  weren't  actively  running 
a  sweat  shop  in  Indonesia  or  dropping  bombs 
on  innocent  foreign  civilians  didn't  mean  they 
weren't  indirectly  contributing  to  some  of  these 
actions  through  their  financial  support  of  cer- 
tain big  corporations  or  the  U.S.  military.  This 
brought  up  some  uncomfortable  truths.  But, 
since  many  of  these  institutions  were  wealthy, 
they  held  power  within  the  system.  The  best  way 
to  make  positive  changes  in  the  world,  the  so- 


Over  the  past  tive  or  10  years,  dozens  ot  so- 
cially responsible  mutual  funds  have  devel- 
oped solid  histories  of  above  average  returns. 
Most  of  these  funds  have  been  able  to  make 
a  profit  on  pace  with  their  competitors  while 
socially  screening  forthings  like  defense  con- 
tracts, cruelty  to  animals,  and  harmful  envi- 
ronmental practices. 


M.KHIS  nicmbcrs  ot'thcsc  churches  and 
anilios  argued,  was  with  their  money. 
;  lii  ing  the  60s,  70s  and  80s.  many  church  mem- 
bers and  students  put  pressure  on  their  boards  to 
divest  from  companies  that  were  polluting  the 
atmosphere,  making  arms  and  promoting  un- 
heahh\  lifestyles.  The  di\estment  from  South 
Africa  during  the  80s  led  to  the  end  of  apart- 
heid, proving  that  the  money  vote  held  enough 
sway  to  play  a  big  part  in  bringing  down  the 
entrenched  go\  emment  and  discriminatory  sys- 
tem of  a  large,  povserful  country. 

Using  your  money,  on  a  smaller  scale, 
works  the  same  way.  The  easiest  way  to  invest 
responsibly  is  through  socially  responsible  mu- 
tual funds.  These  funds,  like  all  mutual  funds, 
hold  a  variety  of  investments  stocks,  bonds, 
etc.  -  which  offer  a  diverse,  more  spread  out 
option  than  in- 
vesting in  indi- 
vidual stocks. 
Fund  managers 
poo!  and  control 
money..  For  so- 
cially responsible 
funds,  these  man- 
agers work  to 
screen  out  certain 
practices,  (pollu- 
tion, racism,  sex- 
ism) stay  out  of 
questionable 

manufacturing  areas,  (armaments,  tobacco,  gam- 
bling) and  or  to  promote  things  like  community 
development  and  the  end  of  aniitial  testing.  The 
number  of  socially  responsible  funds  has  grown 
over  the  years  in  response  to  the  varied  demands 
of  socially  conscious  investors.  Today,  enough 
funds  c-xist  to  make  it  relatively  simple  for  so- 
cially conscious  investors  to  tailor  their  invest- 
ments to  avoid  social  evils  that  they  are  is 
against,  in  order  to  llnd  the  best  combination  of 
social  awareness,  positive  effectiveness  and  re- 
turn on  investment,  you  will  have  to  do  some  of 
your  own  research.  There  are  trade-ofTs  and  com- 
promises  in\oKed  in  making  these  choices.  No 
fund.  prt)bably  no  business  for  profit,  is  going 
to  share  all  of  your  beliefs,  if  you  arc  looking  to 
make  money  on  your  investment  then  you  may 
have  to  be  satisfied  with  making  choices  based 
on  the  lesser  of  two  evils,  but  by  considering  a 
company's  business  practices  along  \\  ith  its  abil- 
ity to  make  a  profit  you  arc  taking  a  step  in  the 
right  direction,  [-.nough  in\estors  boycotting  a 
certain  business  practice  could  Ibrcc  the  whole 
mdiistr>  to  change  just  to  be  able  to  compete, 
lor  more  inlbmiation  on  the  dilTerent  funds,  tiy 
the  library  (i  found  a  few  books  in  liic  business 
section  on  this  topic),  the  internet  (there  are  free 
terminals  at  most  public  libraries  if  you  don't 
have  your  own  access),  searching  under  socially 
responsible  investing  or  by  talking  to  investment 
brokers  (there  are  brokers  in  many  cities  thai 
speciali/e  in  socially  responsible  imcslmenl).  I 
Ibund  one  site  on  the  internet  ( Social  lin  estmcni 
Fomm)  that  listed  social  screens,  minimum  m- 
\cstmcnls  and  past  pcrfomiancc  for  more  ihan 


fifty  funds.  By  reviewing  this  information,  you 
can  hone  in  on  a  fund  that  might  be  right  for 
you.  Some  funds  screen  out  for  things  like  to- 
bacco, alcohol  and  gambling:  some  profess  to 
promote  better  minority  hiring  or  labor  relations. 
Most  funds  require  an  initial  investment  of 
SI. 000.  but  there  are  some  as  low  as  S50  and 
most  of  them  will  let  you  get  on  a  monthly  plan 
to  build  up  your  minimum  requirement  over 
time,  in  general  terms,  at  least  these  funds  are 
run  by  people  who  are  paying  attention  to  more 
than  just  the  bt)ttom  line. 

For  those  capitalists  w  ho  arc  skeptical  about 
making  money  while  being  sociaily  aware,  one 
needs  only  to  look  at  the  financial  facts.  Over 
the  past  5  or  1 0  years,  dozens  of  socially  respon- 
sible mutual  funds  have  developed  solid  histo- 
ries of  above  average  returns.  Most  of  these 

funds  have  been 
able  to  make  a 
profit  on  pace 
with  their  com- 
petitors while 
socially  .screen- 
ing for  things 
like  defense  con- 
tracts, cruelty  to 
animals,  and 
hamiful  en\  iron- 
mental  practices. 
These  funds 
ha\e  pro\en. 
o\er  the  long  term,  that  it  is  possible  to  partici- 
pate posili\  ely  w  hile  still  earning  a  good  return 
on  your  investment. 

Capitalism  on  your  own  terms 

■■Responsible  investing  is.  in  some  ways, 
creating  a  more  ethical  capitalism  in  the  finan- 
cial services  industry,  but  it  is  still  capitalism  and 
one  of  the  final  objectives  is  to  turn  a  profit."  - 

In  deciding  how  to  spend  our  money,  we 
have  to  decide  if  avoiding  the  worst  evils  of  capi- 
talism is  enough.  I  struggled  with  the  idea  of 
writing  this  article  because  I  have  been  reading 
more  and  more  about  anarchism  and  thinking 
about  all  kinds  of  people,  heroes  of  all  ages,  who 
are  in\  enting  their  own  systems,  i  realize  that  I 
am  still  involved  in  the  .system  more  than  1  want 
ti>  be.  Challenging  the  svstem  direclK  and  mak- 
ing real  attempts  to  live  positively  with  the 
people  you  come  in  contact  with  everyday  are 
much  more  powerful  and  immediate  ways  to 
elTcct  change.  By  introducing  the  practice  of  so- 
cialK  responsible  unesting  I  am  onK  tr\ing  to 
olTer  an  idea  for  improvement  in  another  area 
of  our  lives.  Granted,  it's  more  a  practical  idea 
than  a  radical  one.  Socially  responsible  invest- 
ing is  not  a  way  to  overthrow  the  sv stem  but  it 
is  an  easy  way  to  make  si)me  dilVerence. 

There  are  more  extreme  investment  options 
as  well.  You  may  want  to  look  into  local  loan 
funds,  which  prov  ide  low  interest  loans  to  those 
who  might  not  ever  qualify  under  normal  crite- 
ria, or  in  local  non-profits  which  seek  to  serve 
V  our  immediate  community.  Investing  with  your 
conscience  could  be  as  simple  as  prov  idiiig  some 


capital  so  that  a  friend  can  realize  his  or  her 
dream  and  start  a  record  label  to  put  out  friends" 
bands.  Maybe  you  want  to  start  a  small  store  to 
sell  the  products  you  and  your  friends  inake  or 
fund  a  non-profit  cafe  that  serves  healthy  food 
made  out  of  food  grow  n  locally.  In  all  businesses, 
there  are  constant  choices;  choices  between 
cheaper  and  environmentally  better  products; 
choices  between  what's  best  for  the  owners  and 
what's  fairest  to  all;  choices  between  commu- 
nity well-being  or  personal  gain.  If  you  don't 
want  things  in  your  world  to  be  so  much  about 
money,  then  put  your  money,  along  with  your 
time  and  talents,  in  projects  that  don't  only  think 
about  profit. 

Socially  responsible  investing  means  tak- 
ing an  active  interest  in  how  your  money  is  af- 
fecting the  world,  it  is  still  possible  to  make 
money  while  being  a  positive  force,  whether  you 
choose  to  start  your  ow  n  business,  fund  a  local 
grassroots  group  or  invest  in  socially  responsible 
mutual  funds.  How  you  choose  to  affect  the 
world  you  live  in  is  up  to  you.  What  you  choose 
to  do  with  your  money  is  your  own  business. 
But  with  all  the  great  machinery  of  the  system 
w  orking  towards  enticing  us  into  buying  its  prod- 
ucts and  its  ideas  to  achieve  happiness,  increas- 
ing its  profits  by  promising  us  a  lifestyle  that  is 
unattainable,  shouldn't  it  be  important  for  us  to 
be  skeptical  and  thoughtful  about  how  we  spend 
our  money?  We  have  to  believe  that  our  actions 
make  a  difference.  If  we  don't  want  profits  to 
be  more  important  than  damaging  our  env  iron- 
ment  or  screwing  over  our  fellow  people,  then 
it  is  up  to  ail  of  us  to  use  whatever  voice  we 
might  hav  e  to  change  the  system.  By  buying  into 
the  conv  enience  and  consumerism  pushed  on  us 
by  the  capitalist  system,  we  are  allowing  the 
system  to  control  us.  By  not  paying  attention, 
someone  else  is  making  our  decisions  for  us  w  ith 
their  best  interests  in  mind.  I'd  like  to  have  the 
freedom  to  make  mv  own  decisions,  if 

NOTES 

'.  Investing  With  'Sour  Conscience  by  John  C. 

Harrington  Wiley  and  Sons  1 4^)2  p.  62 

-.  Same  as  above,  p.  .'^5 

If  any  of  these  ideas  inieresied  you  then  please  read 
William  Upski  Wimsatt"s  book,  "No  More  Prisons". 
It  is  an  inspiring  collcetion  of  essavs  The  Ixxik  is  avail- 
able from  Soft  Skull  Press.  W  SutTolk  »3A  NY.  NY 
10002  /  www.sonskull.com 


THE  CITY  LIFE  OF  FAKE  MEAT 


\/FfiGtESLire 


byBethBarnett 


part  one.     lunch-meat. 

Recentl\.  1  ha\  e  been  eating  a  lot  of  vegan  fake  processed  meats. 
They  consist  mostly  of  soybeans  and  spices  but  look  almost  indistin- 
guishable from  real  meat  products.  Deli  slices.  Tofu  Pups.  Boca  Burgers, 
pepperoni  slices,  ham.  You  name  it,  I've  worked  it  in  somewhere.  I  like 
this  fake-meat  stuff  because  it  is  convenient  and  filling  in  the  way  the 
real  thing  would  be.  but  it  isn't  meat  at  all,  and  that  makes  it  good  for  me. 
It  seems  very  silly  thai  I'm  eating  hot  dogs  and  deli  sandwiches  these 
days.  Veganism  seems  so  much  about  not  eating  like  e\  eryone  else,  it  is 
odd  to  find  it  possible  to  function  in  an  parallel  universe  of  imitation 
meat,  like  nothing  has  changed.  The  processed  meat  product  is  a  spooky 
thing-  obscure  in  appearance,  completely  manufactured.  Here  I  am  eat- 
ing food  crafted  in  the  image  of  food  I  have  rejected  for  years. 

Hov\e\er.  no  one  is  going  to  deny  that  processed  foods  are  conve- 
nient and  easy,  regardless  of  their  composition.  That  is  why  most  people 
(with  access  to  them)  eat  at  least  some  pre-packaged,  processed  foods. 
That  is  why  a  lot  of  Americans  seem  to  only  eat  these  kinds  of  foods.  I 
eat  plenty  of  processed  foods  that  don't  pretend  to  be  meat,  like  snack 
foods,  cookies,  and  candies.  But,  I  eat  less  of  that  stutTthan  the  average 
person  partly  because  it  is  unappealing,  and  partly  because  a  lot  of  prod- 
ucts contain  animal  ingredients  of  one  fonn  or  another.  When  I  stopped 
eating  meat  and  other  animal  foods  about  seven  years  ago  it  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  taste  and  texture  of  meat  and  everything  to  do  with  what 
meat  is.  When  I  stopped  eating  those  things  1  evolved  this  totally  differ- 
ent view  of  food  and  discovered  issues  related  to  food  I  never  before 
imagined.  I  learned  much  more  about  nutrition  and  about  the  processes 
that  make  meat  out  of  animals.  Now,  as  I  chomp  on  a  soy-burger  or  a 
tofu  pup  I  can  take  what  I  knov\  about  meat  and  think  about  the  veg- 
etables. 

Vegetarianism  can  be  explained  by  a  series  of  textbook  justifica- 
tions: compassion,  non-violence,  animal  rights,  environmentalism.  per- 
sonal taste,  and  human  health.  But  these  values  are  too  broad  to  fit  into  a 
neat  little  vegetarian  vs.  not  \cgetarian  dichotomy.  These  ethics,  at  the 
basis  of  mo.st  urban  vegetarians"  ideologies,  are  broad.  More  than  super- 
ficial thought  about  the  implications  of  our  food  decisions  turns  up  a  web 
of  options  and  contradictions.  Food,  a  basic  necessity  and  universal  need, 
embodies  the  problems  inherent  in  our  society  and  deep  in  our  spiritual 
selves,  even  for  \egetarians-  the  "enlightened"  ones. 


i 


li 


CO 

o 

"e 

o 


Rev.  Richard  \fackin  's  Book  of  Letters:  Consumer  De- 
fense Corporate  Poetry  UI3 


BOOK  OK  LETTERS 


o 
o 


CO 


CO 

(/> 

(U 


Ctmtemporary  .American  consumer  culture  privileges 
the  passive  consuiner.  The  system  works  best  when  we  are 
empty  vessels  with  desires  as  malleable  as  the  morphing 
glut  of  products  that  each  of  us  positi\cly  "can't  live  with- 
out." But  w  hat  happens  w  hen  a  conspicuous  consumer  de- 
cides to  call  major  corporations  on  their  shit  by  way  of  their 
customer  ser\  ice  depailment?  Such  a  tactic  has  produced 
1 3  issues  of  Rich  Mackin's  zine  Book  ofLciicrs:  Consumer 
Defense  Corporate  Poetiy.   .As  a  collection  of  letters  and 
their  responses  (or  lack  thereof)  to  and  from  the  major  cor- 
porations that  sponsor  your  soul,  the  most  recent  issue  will  leave  you 
laughing,  crying  and  saying  "The  Power  of  the  Pen  to  the  People!" 
Taking  corporations  up  on  their  offer  to  "Let  us  know  what  you  think 
about  our  product."  Rich  spends  the  wee  hours  of  the  evening  furiously  draft- 
ing notes  to  customer  service  departments  across  the  globe  to  give  them  a  piece 
of  his  mind.    For  example,  in  one  note  to  Bruegger's  Bagel  Company.  Rich 
suggests  that  he  was  put  off  by  a  regional  employee  referring  to  him  as  "Sir" 
when  he  stops  in  occasionally  to  get  a  sandw  ich.  Instead,  he  suggests  that  they 
implement  a  company-wide  policy  of  calling  people  "My  Man,"  because  it 
sounds  so  much  more  natural  and  sets  him  at  ease  on  his  lunch  break.  Mackin's 
letters  range  from  mildly  agitating  questions  like  where  does  Peter  Pan  Peanut 
Butter  Toast  Crackers  get  their  "toast"  flavor  from  to  the  more  incisive  limer- 


ick written  to  Proctor  and  Gamble  about  torturing  bunnies. 

As  you  can  imagine,  some  of  companies  take  time  to  respond  to 
Mackin's  queries-a  lot  don't.  He  prints  the  former  and  stamps  a  huge 
"NO  REPLY"  at  the  bottom  of  notes  that  the  company  has  failed  to 
respond  to.  The  responses  are  most  funny  when  a  worker  at 
ConglomoCorp,  attempts  to  jam  a  response  to  Mackin's  queiy  into  the 
standard  fomi  letter.  "Thank  you  for  the  suggestion  that  we  make  an- 
other variety  of  Lever  2000."  is  the  beginning  of  a  response  to  a  letter 
suggesting  that  the  company  cash  iri  on  the  millennial  craze  and  call 
themselves  Lever  2K.  Rather  than  address  Mackin's  frustration  with 
Keebler  and  their  packaging  that  show  s  a  "suggested  serving"  of  cook- 
ies being  dunked  and  eaten  by  a  bunch  of  elves  (which  Rich  thinks  is 
not  an  option  for  him),  Keebler  simply  responds  with  a  form  letter 

thanking  him  for  his  concern  and  apologizing  for  the  fact  that  he  is  unsatisfied 

with  Keebler  EL  Double  Fudge  Cookies. 

Mackin's  zine  is  one  of  many  ways  to  wrestle  control  back  from  coipora- 

tions.  It  may  not  be  the  most  destabilizing  or  long-term  way,  but  Book  Of  Letters 

is  hilariously  fun  and  will  have  you  drafting  a  few  letters  of  your  own  by  the 

time  you're  done  reading.  If  you  can't  overthrow  them,  why  not  just  be  a  thorn 

in  their  side? 

-  jason  kucsma 


S3  ppd  in  the  US  '  c'o  Rich  Mackin    PO  Box  890  /  Allston,  MA  02 
Digest,  38  pages,  photocopied 


134 


There  is  this  total  disconnection  between 
the  animals  serving  as  food,  and  the 
consumer.  The  consumer  never  has  to 
think  about  what  his  or  her  food  actually 
is,  and  she  doesn't  have  any  real  relation- 
ship with  that  food. 


paa  >.»       daydreaming 

Maring  out  the  winduu  at  dinner,  1  got  to  daydreaming  about  my 
\  ei;an  Canadian  bacon  and  pepperoni  slices.  I  imagined  myself  starting 
.1  new  job  (not  in  a  vegetarian  restaurant  or  health  food  store)  in  which, 
tor  some  reason.  I  didn't  feel  like  telling  e\  eryone  I  was  vegan.  It's  such 
a  hassle  sometimes.  especiall>  right  at  first.  I  lend  to  pack  my  lunch,  and 
vegan  pepperoni,  nayonnaisc.  and  some  \eggies  works  nicely  in  a  sand- 
wich. Of  course,  no  one  would  notice  anything  different  or  special  about 
my  sandwiches.  They  wouldn't  make  comincnts  about  how  they  have  a 
niece  who  is  vegetarian,  or  ask  if  I  eat  fish  and  chicken.  They  would 
assume  that  I  was  "nornial""  that  I  was  a  'meat-eater."  They  would  have 
no  evidence  to  the  contrary,  unless  I  volunteered  it.  But  that  scenai^io 
makes  me  think,  "oh,  how  very  embarrassing!" 

Out  of  this  daze,  I  mentioned  the  work  scenario  to  a  friend  of  mine, 
who  eats  real  salami  sandwiches,  and  she  replied  by  saying,  "oh,  that's 
weird,  I  guess  you  might  wonder  what's  the  point  (of  not  eating  the  real 
thing]."  She  didn't  understand.  Of  course,  it  isn't  about  the  appearance 
at  all,  or  the  taste  or  the  texture.  It's  all  about  what  the  food  is  actually 
composed  of,  quite  explicitly,  in  detail. 

Really,  I  don't  want  people  to  assume  I  eat  meat.  I've  definitely 
mellowed  my  attitude  about 
meat  in  the  past  few  years,  and 
I  think  people  have  the  right  to 
eat  animals,  and  in  some  cases 
it  is  better  for  survival  and 
health  to  eat  meat  than  to  refuse 
But  I'm  proud  to  be  \egetariari. 
in  my  circumstances.  It's  not  a 
secret.  It's  not  something  I  think 
I  should  hide.  Once  1  took 
crackers  and  \eggie  pepperoni 

slices  w  ith  me  to  eat  as  a  snack  on  a  piano  inp,  but  I  couldn't  bear  to  take 
them  out  because  I  figured  the  guy  next  to  me  would  be  confijsed  as  to 
why  the  stewardess  brought  me  a  vegan  meal  earlier.  I  didn't  care  what 
the  pepperoni  looked  like,  to  eat  it.  I  cared  what  it  looked  like  to  every- 
one else  who  wouldn't  be  able  to  tell  the  ditTerencc.  I  didn't  want  this 
stranger  to  think  1  ate  pepperoni,  e\en  though  he  would  have  assumed  it 
anyway,  and  even  though  he  wouldn't  see  me  again  and  didn't  care.  Call 
me  a  basket-case,  but  that's  how  I  feel. 

part  three,    ingredients. 

Being  \cgaii  m  America  is  all  about  reading  ingredients  labels. 
Except  for  the  die-hard  whole  foods  people,  most  vegans  eat  some  pro- 
cessed or  packaged  foods.  It's  always  and  adventure  and  a  triumph  to 
find  animal-free  items.  There  are  about  a  million  sneaky,  obscurely  named 
ingredients  used  as  additi\ es  and  preser\ ali\ es.  dough  conditioners,  emul- 
sifiers,  tlavor  enhancers,  whatever  that  all  come  from  annuals  in  one 
way  or  another.  Some  of  them,  like  urea  (in  shampoo),  can  be  made 
synthetically  now,  which  is  nice.  About  half  my  time  spent  in  the  gro- 
cery store  is  taken  up  by  speed-reading  ingredients  labels  on  packaged 
foods.  .And,  I  am  not  the  strictest  \egan  out  there.  1  eat  honey,  red-40 
(crushed  insects?),  white  sugar  (sometimes  processed  through  charred 
animal  bones),  and  sometimes  .sodium  sterol  lactylate  (may  or  may  not 
be  from  milk).  If  I  accidentally  buy  bread  that  has  changed  its  ingredi- 
ents to  include  "cultured  whey"  (the  bastards!)  I'll  finish  the  loaf  I  al- 
ready bought  it.   It  is  not  going  to  kill  me. 

Now  that  I  am  an  amateur  ingredients  expert,  obsessed  with  looking 
at  labels,  I  lend  to  notice  that  hardly  anyone  else  "normal"  bothers  to 
read  ingredients  at  all.  If  it  says  it's  food,  if  it  looks  like  food,  if  there's 
no  mold,  they'll  eat  it.  !V1y  mother  used  to  read  ingredients  on  cereal 
boxes  to  check  for  "sugar  first. "  to  present  my  sister  and  me  from  eating 
complete  junk  food  for  breakfast.  She  looks  at  the  "nutritional  informa- 
tion" section  for  fat  content.  But  neither  she,  nor  anyone  else  I  kni>\v 
who  isn't  either  vegetarian  or  a  health-nut  is  as  obsessed  with  contents. 

To  me.  it  seems  weird  not  to  know  the  ingredients  of  something 
before  eating  it.  Kood  is  a  major  part  of  life,  it's  up  there  with  water, 
sleep,  and  sex.  It  seems  odd  and  disturbing  to  not  quite  know  what  \ou"re 
eating  most  of  the  time    ( )ther  animals  run  into  trouble  when  they  don't 


pay  attention  to  what  they're  eating.  They  run  the  risk  of  eating  poison-  I 
ous  insects  or  plants.    Humans  frequently  get  food  poisoning  too,  al-  , 
though  it  rarely  kills  us.  The  thing  with  humans  is  that  we've  gotten  so  I 
good  at  manufacturing  food  that  we  have  hundreds  of  processed  prod- 
ucts that  look  nothing  like  the  w  hole  foods  that  compose  them.  There  are 
children  who  don't  know  that  ham  comes  from  a  pig.  There  are  adults 
who  don't  know  that  the  casing  of  an  a  sausage  is  made  out  of  intestines.  , 
They  don't  ha\e  to  know,  so  they  don't. 

part  four,    origin. 

The  main  problem  that  I  have  with  processed  meat  products,  spe- 
cifically, is  that  they  completely  remove  the  process  of  eating  meat  from 
the  physical  appearance  of  the  animals,  the  tangible  reality  of  their  slaugh- 
ter, and  from  the  sacrifice  in\ol\ed.  Bologna  is  a  medley  of  meat  ingre- 
dients, w  ith  a  homogenous  pink  appearance,  that  the  a\  erage  person  could 
not  make  from  scratch.  Turkey  lunch  meat  doesn't  look  the  same  as  a 
breast  of  turkey,  and  that  doesn't  look  the  same  as  a  turkey  you  just  killed 
and  plucked  yourself  There  is  this  total  disconnection  between  the  ani- 
mals ser\ ing  as  food,  and  the  consumer.  The  consumer  ne\er  has  to 
think  about  what  his  or  her  food  actually  is,  and  she  doesn't  have  any  real 

relationship  with  that  food.  Part 


of  w  hy  I  became  vegetarian  w  as 
becau.se  I  came  to  believe  that  if 
a  person  is  going  to  eat  food  that 
comes  from  an  animal,  he  or  she 
should  feel  able  to  slaughter  that 
animal  him  or  herself  I  have  a 
hard  time  imagining  it.  and  I 
couldn't  unless  my  life  depended 
'  on  it.  So.  I  stopped  eating  it. 
Processed  fake-meats  crafted 
into  shapes  like  the  thin,  circular,  processed  real-meats  taste  and  look 
about  the  same,  but  they  shares  no  complicitN  in  the  pain  and  sacrifice  of 
animals.  However,  fake  bologna  is  just  as  hard  to  make  from  scratch  as 
real  bologna.  It  is  still  manufactured  food.  There  is  still  a  disconnection 
between  the  food  and  the  consumer.  The  nutritional  information  labels 
arc  not  required  to  mention  where  the  ingredients  come  from.  If  the 
ingredients  are  not  certified  organic  (although  the\  often  are  in  vegetar- 
ian health-food  products),  there  is  no  requirement  for  the  label  to  men- 
tion what  pesticides  were  used  on  them,  or  w hether  there  was  any  ge- 
netic engineering.  Manufactured  foods  w  ith  organic  ingredients  are  more 
accountable,  but  descriptions  on  labels  still  don't  match  a  true  under- 
standing of  the  process  of  planting,  growing,  harvesting,  and  then  mak- 
ing the  food  before  it  reaches  the  consumer. 

In  some  cases,  produce  aisles  mention  whether  certain  fruits  and 
\  egetables  ha\  e  been  locally  grow  n,  or  they  ha\  e  stickers  that  say  "grown 
in  California."  But  even  with  these  fresh,  whole  foods,  most  have  no 
explanation  of  how  they  came  to  be  on  displav  in  front  of  us  for  SI  .59  lb. 
In  the  US  at  this  point,  only  about  3%  of  the  population  is  engaged  in 
farming,  and  a  good  portion  of  them  grow  crops  like  alfalfa,  com,  and 
soybeans  for  use  in  livestock  feed.  Most  people  don't  have  a  vegetable 
garden. 

New  genetically  modified  vegetables  are  coming  to  stores  as  pro- 
duce and  as  ingredients.  Soy,  a  staple  of  my  diet,  is  grown  in  large  quan- 
tities w  ith  a  pesticide  engineered  into  it.  My  doctor  and  the  radio  both 
told  me  that  possibly  70  percent  of  soybeans  used  in  non-organic  pro- 
cessed foods  are  (iMOs.  Com  is  also  in  a  lot  of  packaged  foods  and  it  is 
being  grown  and  sold  w ith  pesticides  or  transgenic  genes  in  the  crops. 
I've  heard  of  experiments  that  place  animal  and  fish  genes  into  plants. 
What  does  that  mean  for  vegetarians"?  Is  a  salmon-tomato  still  vegetar- 
ian'.' I've  never  made  a  complete  switch  to  organic  produce  and  pack- 
aged IchhIs.  mainlv  because  of  the  higher  prices  and  smaller  selection, 
but  I'm  thinking  about  it.  Cienetic  engineering  only  complicates  the  search 
for  origin  and  ingredients.  So  far.  the  FDA  and  USDA  think  labeling 
CiMOs  is  unnecessary  and  would  give  a  false  impression  that  the  stuff  is 
less  healthful,  (ireat. 

I.  so  tar,  am  a  metropolitan  girl.    I  get  my  foods  at  the  co-op  and 


health-food  store,  but  also  at  the  grocery  and  big  supermarkets.  My  apart- 
ment has  no  yard  or  land  where  I  could  grow  my  own  soybeans,  com, 
green  peppers,  or  spices.*  Even  if  I  had  a  patch  of  land,  1  don't  have  time 
to  be  a  self-sufficient  farmer.  1  cannot  har\est  wheat  and  mill  flour.  I 
don"t  even  have  time  to  research  where  all  of  the  ingredients  come  from 
in  foods  I  buy  before  they  get  to  "the  store."  I  often  have  to  trust  the  food 
companies  to  work  it  all  out  for  me.  If  I  wanted  to  make  all  of  my  own 
food  from  scratch,  from  the  soil-up,  I  would  have  a  less  varied  diet,  and 
it  would  be  a  full-time  job.  It  is  romantic  to  imagine  this,  but  it  is  hard 
work,  and  there  are  some  advantages  to  living  in  a  complex  economic 
societ>'  were  people  have  learned  to  specialize.  Although  too  many  con- 
sumer goods  can  ruin  us,  in  moderation  they  make  a  big  difference.  There 
are  more  diverse  forms  of  entertainment,  there  are  sub-cultures,  and  there 
are  convenience  foods  (and  those  fake-chicken  nuggets  are  so  tasty  with 
ketchup). 

But  there  is  a  lack  of  awareness  or  concern  over  origin.  It  isn't  just 
the  food.  Where  do  the  other  products  I  buy  come  from?  (the  store,  of 
course).  How  do  the  companies  actually  make  all  of  the  plastic  in  every- 
thing? Where  did  the  components  come  from?  How  v\  ere  the  materials 
mined  from  the  land?  Where  are  the  forests  that  this  paper  came  from'.' 
How  was  the  ink  made?  And.  by  the  way,  when  was  my  apartment  built? 
What  existed  on  this  ground  before  it?  And,  what  about  before  that? 
Where  did  the  cross-beams  come  from,  and  the  brick? 

part  five,  urban  nature. 

There  are  quite  a  few  things  that  I  like  about  urban  life,  and  many 
things  that  1  have  been  conditioned  to  like  or  accept  as  normal.  Cities 
offer  social  diversity  and  a  better  chance  for  meeting  a  few  people  like 
myself  You  can't  be  too  picky  in  a  rural  setting  for  friends.  Cities  also 
imply  choices  and  options.  I  enjoy  being  away  from  cities,  but  so  far  1 
still  want  to  live  in  one. 

A  major  reason  why  1  am  vegetarian  in  the  first  place  is  because  I 
live  in  cities.  The  wide  accessibility  of  fresh  produce,  including  fruits, 
the  existence  of  health  food  stores  and  pre-packaged  tofu  make  \  cgetari- 
anism  an  easy  option.  I  have  choice,  and  I  choose  the  more  compassion- 
ate, more  environmentally  positive  option.  Most  people  don't  recognize 
this  choice,  or  don't  feel  a  responsibility  to  make  it. 

City  people  generally  live  day  by  day  with  some  time  taken  up  walk- 
ing on  the  ground,  feeling  the  wind  on  their  cheeks,  watching  trees  sway, 
listening  to  birds  chirp.  Yet.  it  is  completely  possible  and  common  to 
experience  the  bit  of  nature  in  the  city  without  thinking  about  it  in  its 
own  context.  City  people  can  never  truly  sec  the  soil,  the  rocks,  the 
plants,  the  elements  composing  the  world  that  the  city  is  built  on,  and 
that  we  are  part  of  Even  sitting  in  a  park,  or  walking  barefoot  on  a 
manicured,  mowed  lawn  can  be  done  without  actually  thinking  about  the 
natural  world.  In  the  city  everNthing  has  a  v  isibly  human-centered  order. 
Nature  is  used  by  humans  for  their  purposes,  and  it  is  sculpted  and  frag- 
mented. It  is  an  accent  to  offset  miles  of  concrete,  brick,  and  aluminum 
siding.  To  many  people  who  experience  life  this  way,  everything  may  as 
well  be  man-made,  synthetic,  and  manufactured  by  "somebody  else." 
They  would  hardly  notice.  In  the  city,  nature  is  "under  control."  The  life 
support  of  the  people  in  cities  comes  from  food  shipped  in,  from  water 
stored  and  transported,  or  taken  from  underground.  Most  folks  don't 
know  where  their  food  and  water  come  from  nor  where  their  waste  and 
sewage  go.  It's  all  taken  care  of  (for  a  subsidized  price). 

Public  parks  and  forests  are  places  where  some  people  go  to  see 


In  the  city  everything  has  a  visibly  human-centered  order. 
Nature  is  used  by  humans  for  their  purposes,  and  it  is 
sculpted  and  fragmented.  It  is  an  accent  to  offset  miles 
of  concrete,  brick,  and  aluminum  siding.  To  many  people 
who  experience  life  this  way,  everything  may  as  well  be 
man-made,  synthetic,  and  manufactured  by  "somebody 
else."  They  would  hardly  notice.  In  the  city,  nature  is 
"under  control." 


nature  for  its  own  sake,  since  the  ratio  of  nature  to  people,  pa\  ement,  and 
buildings  is  much  higher  in  such  places.  But,  parks  have  trails,  bath- 
rooms, picnic  tables,  and  even  paved  roads.  They  have  mowed  lawns  for 
throwing  frisbees.  They  have  railings  at  cliff-sides.  They  are  safe  and 
comfortable  for  people.  Trails  and  roads  cater  to  human  needs,  although 
the  strategic  lack  of  trails  in  some  areas  also  protect  "wild"  places  from 
people.  Very  few  city-oriented  individuals  ever  deal  with  nature  com- 
pletely in  its  own  world,  unchanged  for  human  benefit  or  safety.  Very 
few  of  them  ever  experience  life  as  an  equal  part  of  nature  rather  than  a 
spectator  and  \isitor.  We  feel  the  sense  of  being  different  and  removed 
because  our  intrinsic  relationship  to  land  and  the  rest  of  the  organisms  on 
Earth  is  hidden  under  layers  of  technology  and  specialized  tasks. 

Quite  a  few  "normal"  American,  urban  men  (and  fewer  women) 
take  up  hunting  as  a  hobby  to  fulfill  this  need  and  break  down  the  barri- 
ers of  "civilization."  But  their  game  is  artificially  expanded  by  predator 
removal,  and  the  animals  are  limited  in  range  in  small  patches  of  remain- 
ing forest.  Deer  and  bears  aren't  allowed  to  live  in  suburban  neighbor- 
hoods. For  many  hunters,  interaction  with  nature  is  also  a  mixture  of 
appreciation  and  violence.  They  go  to  compete  and  conquer,  even  if  they 
find  enjoyment  in  hours  of  waiting  and  watching  the  woods  around  them. 
But.  few  of  us  escape  that  world-view.  Large-scale  monoculture  fanning 
is  full  of  this  same  attitude  of  people  versus  the  land,  the  native  plants, 
the  insects  and  animals,  and  the  weather.  Paradoxically,  vegetarians  who 
disdain  hunting  and  slaughter  and  hike  on  trails  at  parks  to  connect  with 
nature  do  not  automatically  escape  this  overarching  competition  and  \  io- 
lence. 

part  six.     history. 

In  April,  I  attended  a  presentation  about  building  stone  in  North- 
west Ohio.  This  fellow  was  discussing  the  origins  of  stones  composing 
several  churches,  schools,  railroad  bridges,  and  houses  in  the  Toledo  area. 
In  some  cases  there  were  still  records  from  the  19th  century  describing 
the  sources  of  the  stone,  in  other  cases,  the  characteristics  of  the  lime- 
stone could  be  compared  to  stones  from  known  quarries  active  at  the 
time.  A  few  of  the  buildings  were  built  with  limestone  from  a  quarry 
within  a  few  miles  of  them.  Back  then,  these  people  probably  built  their 
own  houses,  they  used  a  local  quarry  for  their  stone,  and  wood  from 
nearby  trees.  Their  relationship  with  homes  and  community  buildings 
was  personal.  They  took  the  materials  from  known  places  and  built  their 
"civilized"  space  themselves.  It  wasn't  just  made  by  "somebody  else." 
In  following  generations  slaying  on.  they  might  not  ha\e  built  their  build- 
ings, but  they  knew  their  parents  and  grandparents  had.  This  is  the  way 
a  lot  of  people  on  Earth  continue  to  live  today,  in  countries  and  regions 
less  urbanized  and  industrialized  than  ours,  and  in  countries  more  con- 
nected to  the  past.  But.  it's  a  forgotten  way  of  life  to  America's  nomadic 
city  people. 

I  was  fascinated  by  the  presentation.  For  the  first  time  it  struck  me 
how  absolutely  unconnected  I  have  been  to  the  buildings  I  have  lived  in 
and  worked  in-  and  the  land.  I  spend  all  this  time  in  my  life  in  structures 
that  have  no  fundamental  relationship  with  me.  or  even  with  the  land- 
scape around  them.  With  time  I  become  familiar  with  them  and  create  a 
relationship,  but  when  1  leave,  it  vanishes. 

These  days,  small  farms  are  not  very  romantic.  Young  people  are 
lea\  ing  rural  areas  for  more  choices  of  work  in  cities.  It  is  often  more 
profitable  to  sell  a  farm  for  use  in  housing  developments  than  to  farm  it. 
It's  partly  the  fault  of  agribusiness,  but  also  due  to  changes  in  society. 

The  Jeffersonian  romantic  ideal  of 
independent  farmers  is  not  com- 
pletely practical,  and  maybe  it 
never  was.  Anyway,  I'm  no 
farmer  I  don't  even  know  if  I'd 
like  fanning.  It  isn't  that  every- 
one should  try  to  build  his  or  her 
home  from  scratch,  there  are  mil- 
lions of  houses  already  standing. 
Not  everyone  could  be  a  fanner, 
either-  there  isn't  enough  land.  It's 
too  late.   But,  as  it  is,  to  be  urban 


to  be  without  history  or  connection.  I  like  cities  well  enough  to 
i<ut  there  are  reasons  why  rural  people  ha\  e  resisted  city  ways,  and 
1  \e  got  some  things  to  learn  from  thein. 

The  standard  consumption  lifestyle  for  a  lot  of  Americans  in\ol\es 
lumber  from  the  lumberyard-  unknown  origin;  groceries  from  the  super- 
market- manufactured,  unrecognizable:  apartment  rentals-  unknown  age; 
plastic  goods-  synthetic,  unreproduceable.  This  breeds  no  connection  to 
place,  no  security  or  comfort  in  that  sort  of  feeling,  no  relationship  with 
land  or  location  that  is  whole  and  organic. 

part  seven,  connections. 

\\  h_v  bother  anyua\.  knowing  historv',  origin,  contents?  Some  folks 
seem  quite  content  hanging  on  a  civilized  string  over  the  earth,  not  quite 
touching  it.  A  lot  of  people  just  seem  puz/led  by  their  constructed,  arti- 
ficial lives.  They  are  fairly  content,  but  melancholy,  missing  a  sense  of 
wholeness,  meaning,  and  relationships  between  themseh  es  and  the  world. 
I  get  a  sense  of  whole  when  1  take  time  to  think  about  how  rocks  form, 
how  the  soil  evolves  out  of  them,  how  the  plants  take  seed  and  grow,  how 
the  food  is  then  digested,  how  proteins,  compounds,  and  elements  sup- 
port life,  how  poop  nourishes  the  soil  and  bodies  return  elements  to  it. 
That  is  a  cycle  much  larger  and  longer  in  scope  than  I  am.  and  I  know  I 
am  a  part  of  it,  regardless  of  the  fancy  objects  that  get  in  the  way.  It  is 
only  when  1  think  about  the  ecological  relationship  1  have  with  my  food, 
shelter,  and  surroundings  that  I  feel  a  sense  of  peace  with  reality.  So 
much  created  by  humans  seems  pointless,  temporarv.  and  intangible,  but 
e\en  these  things  are  part  of  the  life  cycle.  These  things  are  toys  and 
distractions  that  we  need  to  stay  interested.  There  is  far  more  to  living 
than  filin  theory,  computer  technology,  sociology,  and  engineering.  There 
is  more  than  humans  and  their  societies.  Certainly  earth's  elements  and 
aesthetic  are  in  e\erything-  in  concrete  and  plastic  and  compact  disks. 
But  the  world  includes  interest  far  beyond  that. 

1  don't  think  humans  have  to  un-civilize  themselves  to  see  them- 
selves as  part  of  a  world.  I  like  cities,  books  and  films,  and  some  manu- 
factured goods.  1  am  so  accustomed  to  them  that  they  are  a  frame  of 
reference.  But  deep  below  this  reality  is  the  permanent  and  undeniable 
reality  of  the  basic  functions  of  life  and  of  a  unique  Earth. 

1  will  go  on  eating  my  veggie  peppcroni.  1  know  1  complained  and 
criticized  it,  but  it  really  hits  the  spot  sometimes,  and  the  package  says  no 
GMOs!  I'm  not  a  fruitiarian.  not  a  macrobiotic,  nor  an  organic  whole 
foods  purist.  But  I  can't  stop  thinking  about  the  ridiculousness  of  our 
manufactured  lives  vv hile  1  sit  on  the  stoop,  pulling  off  another  slice, 
stuffing  crackers  in  iny  mouth,  staring  at  the  trees  and  the  leaves  falling. 
On  an  average  day  I  am  surrounded  by  a  lot  of  concrete  and  asphalt  but  I 
know  I'm  bound  to  what  is  real.  1 0  feet  under  the  surface  where  the  roots 
cling  to  real  rocks,  where  they  break  bedrock  to  fomi  new  soil,  slowly, 
through  my  lifetime  and  that  of  those  born  on  the  day  I  die.  It  has  taken 
a  lot  of  thought  and  searching  to  truly  realize  that.  I  still  manage  to  push 
that  essential  knowledge  out  of  the  front  of  my  mind  at  times. 

Civilization  has  really  brainw  ashed  me  and  most  of  my  urban  friends. 
I  feel  resentful  and  frustrated  bv  the  pervasive  capitalist,  urban  culture, 
but  I  still  choose  to  be  in  cities.  I  watch  people  criticize  what  it  di)es  to 
thein  and  eat  it  up  in  the  saine  moment.  I  feel  contlict  myself.  The  diver- 
sity of  urban  people,  ideas,  and  activities  is  stimulating-  the  good  and  the 
bad.  So  much  going  on.  revolv  ing  around  humans,  fools  us  into  worry- 
ing only  about  those  things  contrived  and  orchestrated  by  humans.  But  1 
can  find  alternate  v\ays  of  thinking  about  it.  I've  forced  nivsclf  I  can 
take  the  science  I  hav  e  learned,  hikes  in  the  forest,  human  historv.  art  and 
design,  and  see  the  relationships  between  humans  and  the  rest  of  Earth.  I 
find  that  I  understand  humans  and  the  rest  better  for  it.  After  all.  people 
are  interesting,  but  they're  not  the  center  of  the  universe.  We  live  and  die 
in  an  almost  completely  closed  system,  with  a  whole  lot  of  other  stufV 
going  on.  As  "modern"  urban  people,  we  can  pretend  that  we  don't  need 
to  know  about  ecology  and  nature,  origin  and  composition.  But.  it's 
there,  afTecting  our  behavior,  our  sense  of  purpose,  and  our  health  w  hether 
we  acknovsledge  il  or  not.   if 

*since  writing  the  bulk  ot  this  essay  in  April  &.  May  of  2(KK).  1  moved  to 
a  smaller  "micropolitan"  city  and  moved  into  a  house  w  ith  a  vard..  now 
I  have  no  excuse  not  to  teach  mvself  uardeninii. 


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AfnericaD  Culture 


.-Jv  mo.s!  Americans  arc  aMarc.  the  25'''  annivcrsarv  of  ihc  end  o/ 
the  I'ielnam  liar  occurred  not  so  long  ago  and  yet  Its  memory  still 
haunts  us.  Did  America  lose?  What  about  the  Vietnam  veterans?  Why 
does  that  memory  still  linger  with  us?  Why  are  there  still  those  MIA 
'lags  25  years  later?  George  Bush  Sr  made  the  remark  during  1991 
^hat  the  Vietnam  War  syndrome,  as  he  put  it.  is  finally  over,  though  to 
\many  Americans  the  controversy  and  angst  of  the  war  America  didn  ) 
win  still  lives  on.  ft  is  undeniable  that  Vietnam  has  made  a  lasting 
impression  on  the  American  psyche  and  remains  an  influence  on  our 

ulture  so  many  years  later  The  urban  legend  of  the  Vietnam  Vet  being 
•pat  upon  has  remained  a  prominent  image  of  the  post-Vietnam  cul- 

ure.  Is  this  the  way  it  really  happened?  Jerry  Lembcke  is  an  Associate 
Professor  of  Sociology  at  Holy  Cross  College  in  Wooster.  Massachu- 
setts and  his  book.  The  Spitting  Image:  Mytii,  Memory,  and  the  Legacy 
of  Vietnam,  Itas  recently  been  published  by  New  York  University  Press. 
In  it.  he  discusses  his  experience  oj  returning  home  from  Vietnam  as  a 
veteran,  and  reminds  us  that  history  is  often  rewritten.  Interview  by 
Peter  Werbe. 

'lamor:  Why  does  the  memoiy  of  Vietnam  linger  in  the  public  imagina- 
tion in  the  form  that  it  does? 

[iLembke:  The  memory  of  Vietnam  veterans  being  spit  on? 

'Certainly  that  is  one  of  the  core  images  of  the  war  and  the  spitting  image 
■■'s  the  sen.se  that  you  get  as  soon  as  you  look  at  your  book.  But  I  meant. 
i7?v'  are  we  still  concerned  about  Vietnam  in  the  sense  that  we  are'.' 

Primarily,  it's  because  we  lost  the  war.  It  was  a  traumatic  experience 
loiitically  and  emotionally  because  of  that  and  that  trauma  makes  it 
iifficult  to  put  the  war  behind  us.  It  was  a  war  that  went  on  for  10  years 
Hid  it  was  the  first  War  that  this  country  lost.  So,  it's  been  a  hard  pill  to 
^wallow.  We  keep  looking  for  ways  to  replay  the  war  in  our  own  mind 
Hid  culture,  perhaps  subconsciously  hoping  that  we  can  make  it  come 
lut  differently. 

'-'/( the  cover  of  your  book.  The  Spitting  Image:  Myth,  Memory  and  the 
cgacy  of  Vietnam,  the  photograph  on  the  cover  shows  what  we  would 
hink  oj  as  an  archetypal  anti-war  protestor  from  the  late  1960s  and 


\ 


curly  1970s.  .4  bearded  num.  very  long  hair:  he's  got  a  flower  in  his 
buttonhole  of  an  Army  Jacket,  all  sorts  of  anti-war  pins,  and  he  has 
something  in  his  hands  that  he's  about  to  throw.  What  is  the  image? 
Where  did  it  come  from? 

It's  from  .'\pril  1971  and  a  couple  of  thousand  Vietnam  veterans  went  to 
Washington  to  return  their  medals  to  the  government;  medals  they'd 
been  awarded  for  their  service  in  Vietnam  and  this  fellow  is  on  the  Capi- 
tol steps,  and  what  he  has  in  his  hand  is  a  handftil  of  those  medals  and 
he's  about  to  throw  them  over  a  picket  fence  in  defiance  of  the 
government's  continuation  of  the  war  in  Vietnam.  It's  largely  an  image 
that's  been  forgotten  by  Americans.  The  memory  that  so  many  veterans 
came  home  from  the  Vietnam  to  oppose  the  war  is  something  that  we've 
tried  to  write  out  of  our  history. 

Has  this  ever  occurred  before?  lias  there  a  return  of  medals  in  the  early 
1 930s  in  the  Bonus  March  on  Washington  by  World  War  I  veterans,  or  is 
this  unprecedented? 

It's  unprecedented  as  far  as  I  know.  The  Bonus  March  on  Washington 
was  an  attempt  of  course  by  WWI  veterans  to  get  the  bonus  they  had 
been  promised  after  the  war,  but  it  wasn't  a  protest  of  the  war,  and  no, 
as  far  as  I  know,  there's  been  no  time  in  American  history  when,  or  any 
other  country's  history  really,  when  soldiers  have  done  something  like 
this. 

Give  us  the  proportions  of  the  demonstrations.  Here  were  men.  combat 
veterans,  who  had  won  medals  and  they  were  being  thrown  back  in  con- 
tempt, right?  I  mean,  these  weren  t  politely  returned. 

Absolutely.  There  was  a  lot  of  anger  and  there  was  a  lot  of  frustration. 
The  veterans  were  there  in  1971  to  demand  that  the  war  be  ended.  And 
again,  this  is  one  of  the  remarkable  things  about  it,  the  war  was  still 
going  on.  These  guys  were  there  to  protest  the  war  that  they  had  been 
sent  to  fight  and  they  had  returned  from.  Some  of  the  men  who  were 
there  had  seen  combat  and  some  had  not.  There  were  a  variety  of  medals 
that  w  ere  being  returned.  Puiple  hearts  for  people  who  had  been  wounded, 
medals  for  valor,  but  also  plain  campaign  ribbons,  ribbons  for  good  ser- 
vice, discharge  papers,  that  sort  of  thing. 


a> 


o 


The'\'  was  a  lol  oj  oppusilion  to  the  war 
.  <n  all  levels  of  society,  but  the  veterans 
had  a  specific  opposition  that  was.  as 
you  said,  unprecedented  for  veterans  of 
a  war  still  beingjbught.  opposing  it  and 
opposing  it  in  such  a  dramatic  way.  Did 
you  interview  the  men  who  participated 
in  those  actions?  Did  they  talk  ahoiit 
their  motivation? 


Well,  to  begin  with.  I'm  a  Vietnam  vet- 
eran myself,  and  in  the  Spring  of  1 97 1 . 
I  was  living  in  Greeley,  Colorado  and 
was  a  part  of  a  group  of  veterans  called 
Vietnam  Veterans  Against  the  War  and 
we  sent  a  contingent  from  Colorado  to 
Washington.  We  drew  straws  for  who 
got  to  go  because  we  didn't  have  enough 
travel  money  for  all  of  us  and  I  was  left 
behind  as  part  of  the  local  press  delega- 
tion. So  1  have  that  bit  of  personal  back- 
ground on  it  myself  and  I've  kept 
loosely  in  touch  with  Vietnam  Veterans 
Against  the  War  since  that  time,  so  1 
know  a  lot  of  these  stories  very  well.  In 

the  course  of  doing  the  book,  1  kind  of  brushed  up  on  some  of  that  his- 
tory, but  a  lot  of  it's  been  written.  John  Carey,  the  now  senator  from 
Massachusetts,  was  one  of  the  people  who  was  very  much  involved  in 
that  and  he  did  some  writing.  There's  a  couple  of  books  that  he  authored 
that  have  a  lot  of  the  personal  testimonies  and  a  lot  of  the  v\ords  that 
veterans  spoke  at  that  time  as  they  were  returning  their  rnedals.  And,  so 
there's  quite  a  bit  of  documentary  history  on  that,  as  well  as  the  newspa- 
per accounts.  You  would  be  surprised  if  you  went  back  and  read,  say  the 
New  York  Times  from  that  time.  Tiiis  was  front-page  news,  w  hich  makes 
it  all  the  more  remarkable  that  now  most  people  don't  remember  this 
happened.  The  image  of  this  empowered,  politicized  Vietnam  veteran 
has  been  displaced  by  that  of  Vietnam  veterans  as  victims  of  the  war. 
Vietnam  \  eterans  w  ho  are  stricken  by  post-traumatic  stress  disorder  and 
homeless  \ets:  the  bedraggled,  besieged,  sad-sack  Vietnam  \et  charac- 
ter. 

Three  million  guys  went  through  the  militaiy  at  that  lime  In  terms  of 
your  sense  of  things  at  the  lime,  when  you  were  a  llelnam  veteran  op- 
posing the  war,  during  the  war,  and  as  you  look  hack  as  a  historian,  did 
you  think  you  represented  the  majority  sentiment  of  Vietnam  vets?  Or 
did  you  get  the  sen.se  you  were  these  oddhalls  that  were  traitorous  and 
out  <)/  the  ordinary. 

( )h  no;  our  feeling  at  the  time  was  that  we  represented  a  majority  opin- 
ion. Not  c\ery  \et  was  opposed  to  the  war  certainly,  but  my  feeling 
when  I  came  home  from  \ietnam  was  that  most  of  the  guys  that  I  was 
with  at  the  time  I  left  Vietnam  were  opposed  to  the  war.  And  sur\ ey  data 
done  at  the  time  bears  that  out.  There  was  Harris  Poll  data,  and  a  certain 
amount  of  academic  research  that  was  done  at  the  time  which  suggests 
that  as  high  as  75  percent  of  Vietnam  veterans  were  opposed  to  the  war. 
at  the  time  they  returned  from  Vietnam.  It's  also  interesting  that  polling 
data  at  that  lime  shows  that  Vietnam  vets  felt  like  they  were  welcomed 
hoine  just  fine,  and  that  defies  the  common  wisdom  now  that  Vietnam 
\ets  felt  rejected  and  forgotten.  They  didn't  feel  that  way  at  that  lime.  So 
something  happened  in  the  culture  between  the  end  of  the  war  and  the 
present  lime  where  our  own  memory,  our  own  sense  of  what  went  ou 
then,  has  gotten  reconfigured. 

The  subtitle  ol  vour  book  is  .Myth.  .Memory,  and  the  I.egtiiv  ol  llelnam 
and  each  ol  those  words  is  very  imporlani   The  main  title.  The  Spitting 


n^.  > 


Itnage.  is  the  central  image  in  that  reconfiguration  you  .speak  of—the 
I  ietnam  veteran  being  spit  on  by  .some  long-haired,  anti-war  hippie. 
with  saliva  drooling  off  his  face,  standing  there  helpless  and  hopeless. 
feeling  his  country  has  abandoned  him  after  his  sacrifice  for  the  fight 
for  freedom  in  Southeast  .Asia.  You  're  saying,  that's  not  what  it  looked 
like  in  1971.  What  transpired  in  the  intervening  30 years? 

Thai's  realK  what  the  book  is  about,  liecausc  when  we  go  back  to  the 
late  6()s.  early  197()s.  not  only  is  there  no  evidence  that  those  things 
happened  to  veterans,  neither  do  we  find  any  ev idence  that  anvbody 
said  they  w  ere  happening. 

)oii  're  saying  llnil  no  veteran  was  spit  on'.' 

I'm  saying  there's  no  evidence  that  it  happened.  There  arc  the  allega- 
tions now,  30  years  later  that  it  happened,  but  for  example,  there  are  no 
newspaper  reports  from  thai  time  that  it  was  happening.  I  couldn't  find 
something  like  a  letter  that  a  vet  w rote  home  sav  ing.  "Dear  mom.  guess 
v\'hat — I  was  spat  on  this  morning  at  the  San  Francisco  airport."  Nobody 
has  given  me  anything  like  that.  And  again,  there  aren't  any  claims  from 
that  time  that  anybody  was  being  spat  on.  which  is.  all  the  more  remark- 
able. So.  sometime  betw  ecu  the  lale  6()s  earlv  70s  and  now.  these  stories 
began  to  appear.  Most  of  them  begin  to  appear  around  1980  in  the  con- 
text of  the  Vietnam  Memorial  in  Washington  being  built.  A  certain  amount 
of  this  stutT  began  appearing  in  film,  although  there  arc  no  direct  images 
of  vets  being  spat  on.  even  in  film. 

U'asn  I  there  one  in  Conung  I lonu'.' 

Coming  Home,  a  1978  film.  There's  no  references  to  spitting  in  that 
film,  but  there's  lots  of  images  of  betrayal  in  the  film  and  expressions  of 
being  forgotten  and  rejected,  particularly  involving  the  returning  Viet- 
nam vet  character  played  bv  Urucc  Dem  by  his  wife.  SalK.  who  was 
plaved  b\  .lane  F'onda.  The  one  most  explicit  reference  to  spitting  in  film 
occurs  in  the  first  Rambo  film  where,  at  the  ver\  end.  he's  being  talked 
out  of  his  rage  bv  C  ornel  Troutman.  and  savs  "Those  maggots  at  the 
airport  spitlin'  and  calling  me  baby  killer."  But  that's  probably  ihe  most 
explicit  reference  to  il  in  llollvvvood  films. 

How  then  did  the  spilling  image  becimie  inserted  into  the  culture  if  we 


[culture] 


have  no  evidence  of  it.  nohocly  claimed  it  at  the  time,  and  there's  no 
record  oj  it?  How  did  it  become  such  a  powerful  and  enduring  image? 

There  were  a  lot  of  claims  made  during  the  period  near  the  end  of  the 
war  by  people  like  Vice  President  Spiro  Agnew  that  anti-war  activists 
were  acting  in  a  hostile  way  to  Vietnam  veterans.  There  was  a  lot  of  that. 
They  tried  to  turn  Vietnam  veterans  against  the  anti-war  movement. 

It  is  important  to  view  stories  of  spat-upon  veterans  in  another  his- 
torical context.  After  World  War  I.  for  example.  Gennany  had  lost  the 
war  and  when  their  soldiers  came  home,  there  was  a  similar  kind  of 
campaign  to  portray  veterans  as  having  been  spat  upon.  And,  these  sto- 
ries are  in  the  literature  and  in  historical  accounts  of  that  post-war  pe- 
riod of  defeat,  so  it's  possible  that  images  of  spat  upon  vets  were  picked 
up  by  somebody,  were  read  in  military  histories  or  in  novels. 

But  ultimately  what  I  settle  on  in  the  book  is  that  there's  an  imagi- 
native element  here;  that  in  our  society  when  we  try  to  image  experi- 
ences of  rejection  and  hostility,  the  spitting  image  is  thing  that  comes  to 
mind.  What  do  people  do  to  people  they  don't  like?  They  spit  on  them. 
And  one  of  the  things  that's  really  interesting  about  this  is  that  in  many 
olthe  stories  the  spitters  are  women  or  young  girls.  When  1  was  telling 
this  to  an  anthropologist  friend  of  mine,  she  stopped  me  in  mid-sentence 
and  said,  "Gotta  be  a  myth."  I  paused  for  a  second  and  I  knew  what  she 
was  going  to  say,  which  was,  "Girls  don't  spit." 

So  what  you  have  here  is  stories,  often  times  told  by  the  veterans 
themselves,  but  not  necessarily  by  them.  Often  they're  told  by  people 
who  identify  with  military  culture,  who  identify  emotionally  with  the 
fact  that  the  U.S.  lost  the  war.  and  they  turn  that  into  stories  about  rejec- 
tion and  betrayal  on  the  home  front,  and  women  loom  large  in  some  of 
those  stories.  It  becomes  a  story,  a  narrative,  about  the  loss  of  masculin- 
ity, the  loss  of  manhood  in  war.  When  men  talk  about  this,  it's  an  easy, 
quick  step  to  talk  about  women  as  being  the  betrayers  and  the  element  in 
the  culture  that  caused  the  loss  of  the  war. 


that  some  long-haired  freak  would  go 
out  to  an  airbase  or  airport  and  spit 
on  some  guy  that  had  fust  come  hack 
from  combat,  f  figured  they  would 
probably  have  been  beaten  to  a  pulp. 
Back  in  the  day  when  it  was  all 
going  on,  there  were  active  duty  GI's 
leading  every  mass  anti-war  demon- 
stration followed  by  contingents  of 
anti-war  Vietnam  veterans,  followed 
by  GI's  that  had  been  veterans  of  other 
wars  and  then  the  great  masses  of 
people  that  represented  everybody. 

After  the  panel  discussion,  a 
Marine  combat-veteran  came  up  to 
me.  angiy  as  could  be.  and  said.  '/ 
was  spit  on.  "  I  thought,  well.  I  guess 
it,  could  have  happened  once.  Did  he 
not  get  spit  on? 

Well,  we  could  never  be  sure. 
I  've  had  numerous  conversations  that 
begin  like  that  and  almost  all  of  them 
break  down.  It  turns  out  to  be  they 
don  't  know  who  spat  on  them.  It  turned 
out  to  be  somebody  in  a  bar  not  nec- 
essarily an  anti-war  person,  or  it  turns 
(Hit  to  be  a  spitting  incident  over  something  that  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  politics  of  the  war  )ou  know,  they  got  into  an  argument  about  the 
World  Series  or  something  and  somebody  spat  on  this  guy.  Or  some- 
times the  guy  is  spat  on.  but  there 's  really  no  reason  to  think  that  the 
spitter  would  have  thought  that  the  guy  was  a  Vietnam  veteran.  Was  he 


in  uniform': 
Well.  no. 


.\o.  Well,  did  the  person  know  you  were  a  Vietnam  vet? 


Oh.  absolutely;  there  are  more  with  every  passing  day.  (laughs)  Cur- 
rently, on  slate.com  the  on-line  magazine,  there  are  about  200  postings 
related  to  this.  The  manager  of  it.  Jack  Schaffer,  wrote  a  piece  using  my 
book  as  his  ammunition,  attacking  the  use  of  this  image  in  the  press.  The 
.New  York  Times  recently  used  this,  the  spat-upon  Vietnam  vet,  as  did  US 
.\'ews  and  World  Report,  and  he  attacked  both  of  those,  using  my  book. 
Well,  in  response,  he  got  over  200  postings,  and  many  of  them  from  vets 
who  say  they  were  spat  on  and  worse.  Some  of  the  stuff  is  too  gross  to 
mention. 

There's  an  element  here  of  urban  myth  or  urban  legend  and  my 
book  has  certainly  not  put  it  to  rest.  If  anything  it's  spawned  even  more 
stories;  they  ju.st  keep  being  generated. 

Yoin-  book  talks  about  myth  and  menioiy.  so  maybe  these  guys  were  spit 
on  and  never  said  anything  at  the  time,  or  maybe  they  made  it  up.  What 's 
the  difference? 

Well,  it's  very  important.  These  stories  help  construct  an  alibi  for  why 
we  lost  the  war.  And  the  alibi  runs  that  we  weren't  beaten  by  the  Viet- 
namese, we  were  beaten  on  the  home  front.  We  were  betrayed,  we  were 
stabbed  in  the  back  and  it's  by  that  feminine  element  in  our  culture  that 
allowed  us  to  be  vanquished. 

That's  totidiv  Hitlarian. 


.And.  effeminizcd  men. 

They  femini/ed  the  story,  exactly.  They  gender  the  story. 

/  vv(/.v  on  a  panel  a  while  ago  about  the  anti-war  movement  during  the 
Vietnam  era  and  I  mentioned  the  idea  of  GI's  being  spit  upon  when  ihev 
arrived  back  in  the  i  niled  Stales.  I  said  it  seemed  preposterous  to  me 


Yes.  it  is.  It  minors  the  inter-war  experience  in  Germany,  and  it  leads  to 
a  reactionary  backlash  politics  at  home  and  keeps  alive  the  idea  that  we 
could  have  won  the  war.  And.  that's  a  dangerous  myth,  because  this 
being  the  25"'  anniversary  of  the  end  of  war  in  Vietnam,  it's  very  impor- 
tant, that  we  not  allow  that  war  to  be  reopened.  I  think  there  are  people 
who  want  do  that  who  are  not  still  not  resigned  to  the  fact  that  we  lost 
the  war  They  represent  the  idea  that  we  need  to  go  back,  we  need  to  redo 


[culture] 


this.  V  c  .  cd  to  get  it  right  this  time,  if  not  in  Vietnam,  someplace  else  in 
'he  V,  Id.  That's  the  importance  of  George  Bush,  Sr.'s  reference  to  the 
\  :..  ;iiaiTi  syndrome. 

But.  nc  have  not  overcome  it.  thankfully. 

That's  right,  but  the  war  against  Iraq  was  in  many  ways  generated  by 
those  kinds  of  feelings,  that  we  have  to  show  that  we  can  do  it.  that  we 
really  are  the  men  that  we  say  we  are,  that  we  can  go  to  war.  we  have 
whatever  it  takes  "to  do  the  job." 

/  think  when  we.  as  a  nation,  grieve  the  loss  of  55  thousand  Americans 
killed  in  Vietnam,  we  should  put  that  into  perspective  and  realize  that  the 
Indo-Chinese  lost  three  million  civilians.  That's  half  a  Holocaust  for  an 
attempt  hy  the  U.S.  empire  to  force  its  foreign  policy  goals  on  the  region. 
It  was  hopeless  to  even  assume  that  we  could  do  it,  and  the  idea  that  we 
should  have  continued  the  war.  to  me.  is  just  awful.  Noam  Chomsky  .said 
that  when  you  ask  most  Americans  how  many  how  many  Indo-Chinese 
civilians  died,  they  Just  look  at  you  blankly  because  they  never  consid- 
ered the  question.  They  will  usually  say,  "I  don  't  know,  a  couple  hundred 
thousand.  "  Chomsky  makes  the  analog}'  to  asking  German  citizens  today 
how  many  .Jews  and  other  people  died  in  the  Nazi  Holocaust  and  them 
saving.  "I  don't  know.  What,  two,  three  hundred  thousand'.'  " 

The  .spitting  image  is  one  of  the  main  things  that's  displaced  the  real  his- 
tory of  the  war.  Americans  today  know  very  little  about  the  war  itself. 
Largely,  the  history  has  become  a  story  about  what  happened  to  our  boys 
when  they  returned  home  and  everybody  thinks  they  know  the  truth  about 
that. 

How  did  the  Ni.xon  administration  change  the  focus  of  the  war  from  a 
conflict  against  so-called  "communist  aggression,  "  to  a  war  to  gel  our 
POW's  hack'.' 

From  about  the  time  the  Nixon  administration  came  into  office,  in  early 
1969,  the  war  ver>  much  became  that.  Wc  have  to  keep  funding  going  for 
the  war,  we  have  to  keep  sending  fresh  troops  to  the  war:  why?  Because 
the  other  side  has  some  of  our  POW's.  And,  in  negotiations  with  the  North 
Vietnamese,  that's  the  way  it  went.  We  won't  stop  the  bombing,  the  U.S. 
said,  we  won't  stop  prosecuting  the  war  until  you  release  our  POW's.  The 
Vietnamese  were  saying  quite  the  reverse  of  that.  So,  the  POW's  in  Viet- 
nam were  used  as  pawns  in  the  war,  as  were  the  soldiers  themselves.  One 
of  the  first  arguments  1  had  when  1  got  home  was  with  one  of  my  uncles 
who  said  we  have  to  keep  the  war  going.  Why?  Because  there  are  men 
there  fighting  the  war.  And,  that's  what  was  used  in  the  Persian  (iulf  War 
as  well.  Bush  sent  the  troops  and  then  said  we  have  to  support  the  war, 
because  the  troops  are  there  to  fight  the  war.  It's  political  blackmail. 

When  you  returned  from  I  icinam  as  a  veteran,  how  were  you  received'.'' 
People  always  talk  about  I  ietnam  veterans  being  received  so  poorly. 

We  came  hinnc  from  Vietnam  with  war  stories  that  people  didn't  want  to 
hear.  That  was  the  problem.  And,  a  lot  of  our  war  stories  were  really  anti- 
war stories.  They  were  stories  about  why  this  war  should  be  stopped. 
They  were  sometimes  stories  that  involved  accounts  of  atrocities,  mis- 
treatment of  the  Vietnamese.  They  were  stories  that  did  not  put  us  in  a 
good  light,  and  the  American  people  for  the  most  part,  didn't  w  ant  to  hear 
those  stories.  ,Anli-war  people  did.  ,'\iid  tiiat's  w  hy  we  got  the  best  recep- 
tion, the  best  hearing,  the  most  support  from  anti-war  people.  But  that 
story  has  been  turned  on  its  head  and  washed  out  of  our  memory.  We 
didn't  come  home  looking  for  parades.  You  often  limes  hear  Vietnam 
vets  say,  "We  nc\er  got  our  paraile."  Most  guys  came  home  from  Viet- 
nam opposed  to  the  war:  we  didn't  come  home  looking  for  a  parade.  This, 
again,  is  a  rewriting  of  history  and  really  does  a  disservice  to  what  was 
the  proudest  moment  for  a  lot  of  Vietnam  vets,  the  fact  that  we  came 
home  and  acted  quite  boldly  and  courageously  to  eiul  that  war    • 


[culture] 


Hegemonic  Saliva 

A  Review  by  Phil  Dickinson 

The  Spitting  Image:  Myth,  Memory,  and  the  Legacy  of 
Vietnam  by  Jerry  Lembcke  (New  York  University 
Press,  2000) 

The  familiar  scenario  has  been  invoked  countless  times  in 
the  arguments  which  swirl  around  the  movements  against  the 
Vietnam  War  and  the  way  in  w  hich  they  arc  remembered.  A  vet- 
eran disembarks  from  the  plane  that  has  brought  him  back  from 
the  jungles  and  rice  fields  of  Viet  Nam,  retrieves  his  baggage, 
and  prepares  to  rcacquaint  himself  with  a  society  he  has  heard 
has  turned  alien  in  his  absence.  Out  in  the  airport  lobby,  he  is 
met  by  a  group  of  antiwar  protestors.  Several,  perhaps  all  of  them, 
are  women  (it's  hard  to  tell).  They  are  longhaired  and  shabbily 
attired  in  all  the  androgynous  freakcry  of  a  new  and  disturbingly 
unfamiliar  America.  Spying  their  prey,  the  mob  surges  forward 
and,  amid  shouts  of  "Baby  Killer!."  and  "Murderer!."  someone 
(usually  one  of  the  women)  unleashes  a  glob  of  saliva  which 
arcs  its  way  towards  the  bewildered  veteran  and  unceremoni- 
ously splashes  onto  his  unifonn,  his  face.  Welcome  home,  sol- 
dier boy. 

It's  a  visceral  image  which  crystallizes  for  many  the 
essentialized  "facts"  of  America's  "bad"  war:  a  military  hog- 
tied  into  defeat  by  craven  and  liberal  politicians  back  home,  du- 
tiful soldiers  betrayed  by  a  generation  of  cowardly  rich  kids  more 
in  tune  with  Mao  and  the  MC5  than  the  Marine  Corps  hymn,  a 
public  unsympathetic  to  and  suspicious  of  the  returning  veter- 
ans whose  legacy  includes  mass  rape  and  murdered  babies  at 
My  Lai,  and  the  veterans  themselves,  traumatized  and  misun- 
derstood, broken  by  betrayal  and  neglect,  left  with  only  their 
fiashbacks  and  bitter,  explosive  anger  for  company. 

An  entire  history  of  the  country's  recent  past  and  an  im- 
plicit understanding  of  its  future  role  in  world  afi'airs  attaches 
itself  to  that  memorv  of  those  thin  trails  of  angrv  sputum.  There 
is  only  one  problem.  There's  "scant  evidence"  it  ever  happened 
that  way.'  This,  at  least,  is  the  central  contention  of  Holy  Cross 
College  sociology  professor  and  Vietnam  veteran  Jerry 
Lcmbcke's  ambitious  book  The  Spitting  Image:  Myth.  Memoiy . 
and  the  Legacy  of  lletnam.  Lembcke  is  quick  to  point  out  that 
the  veracity  of  this  and  other  stories  like  it  is  not  really  the  issue. 
Although  "it  is  possible,  ev  en  likely,  that  some  Vietnam  v  eteran. 
someplace,  at  some  time,  endured  this  humiliation."  more  im- 
poilant  is  the  fact  that  "in  the  memorv  of  a  large  number  of  people 
the  anti-war  mov  cmcnt  came  to  be  connected  w  ith  the  image  of 
activists  spitting  on  veterans."' 

Confrontcd  with  memories  such  as  these  during  the  1991 
Gulf  War.  Lembcke  set  out  to  evaluate  the  hi.storical  evidence 
for  and  origin  of  the  spitting  stories  as  well  as  the  ways  in  which 
the  stories  themselves  were  constructed  and  circulated,  and  the 
political  and  cultural  uses  they  served.  The  resulting  book  traces 
the  processes  of  public  remembering  and  forgetting,  of  erasure 
and  reinscription,  across  the  discourses  of  journal  ism.  psychia- 
try, and  film.  Lembcke  convincingly  uncovers  the  complex  trail 
of  historical  denials  and  inv  ersions  the  contested  details  of  which 
arc  belied  by  the  neat  certainties  of  the  stor>  of  the  spat-upon 
Vietnam  veteran  and  its  close  corollarv.  the  storv'  of  the  crazy 
V  ictim-vetcran  unhinged  by  war  and  homcfront  betrayal  so  he- 
loved  by  Hollywood. 


'  Lembcke.  72.  Lembcke  dismisses  accounts  such  as  those  as.seinbled  by 
nnim.iliM  Bob  (irccne  for  his  I'JS.^  btwk  Htimi\oming  oflen  ciled  by  dcfcndcni 
of  ihc  >pjl-ufKin  set  myth  Most  of  the  >loncs  (irecnc  rcconlcd  arc  suspiciously 
unifomi  in  Ihcir  Jclails.  says  1  cnibukc.  and  socm  lo  ha\c  cmcr^icil  in  response  to 
IciJing  qucslions 


myth.  Memory,  amtl  tkt  Legmcy  of  VlcA«M 


JERRY  LEMBCKE 


Lembcke  calls 
such  stories  myths 
less  because  he  finds 
them  historically  in- 
accurate than  be- 
cause of  the  way 
they  function  as 
powerful  shapers  of 
collective  ideologi- 
cal "commonsense." 
As  he  goes  on  to 
point  out,  the  hege- 
monic interests  of 
the  political  right  are 
\sell  served  by  this 
mythic  erasure  of  a 
set  of  historical  re- 
alities which  under- 
mme  the  nationalist 
and  racist  visions  of 
American  empire. 
The  origins  of  the 
myth  of  the  spat- 
upon  veteran  (and 
the  crazy  vet  stories) 
can  be  found,  according  to  Lembcke,  in  such  "grist"  as  the  fragmented 
and  misremembered  (but  well-documented)  spitting  incidents  in  which, 
counter  to  mythic  commonsense.  pro-wdr  protestors  spat  upon  their  op- 
ponents,' as  well  as  in  the  various  propaganda  campaigns  launched  by 
the  ultrarightist  fantasists  of  the  Nixon-Agnew  administration  in  the  spring 
and  fall  of  1969. 

Elected  on  a  peace  platform,  Nixon  escalated  and  expanded  the  war. 
In  May,  1969.  the  POW  issue  was  launched  to  divert  attention  from  the 
secret  bombing  of  neutral  Cambodia,  but  by  the  Moratorium  Days  pro- 
tests in  the  fall  of  1969.  public  displays  of  dissent  were,  in  the  words  of 
Life,  "without  historical  parallel."^  Faced  with  a  potent  antiwar  alliance 
of  radicals  and  liberals,  the  Nixon  administration  sought  to  further  reframe 
the  debate  about  U.S.  conduct  in  Southeast  Asia  by  making  the  war  an 
issue  of  support  for  U.S.  soldiers  themselves  rather  than  U.S.  policy.  This 
was  done  by  portraying  antiwar  protestors  as  both  anti-American  and 
anti-soldier  (then-California  Governor  Ronald  Reagan's  assertion  that 
Moratorium  organizers  "lent  comfoil  and  aid"  to  the  enemy  and  that  "some 
Americans  will  die  tonight  because  of  the  activity  in  our  streets"  being 
one  particularly  noxious  example' ).  Yet  the  increasingly  damaging  par- 
ticipation in  such  protests  by  radical  antiwar  veteran  groups  such  as  Viet- 
nam Veterans  Against  the  War  threatened  to  disrupt  the  comforting  plati- 
tudes of  this  position  and  required  that  fine  public  distinctions  now  be 
made  between  "good"  and  "bad"  veterans.  As  VVAW's  visibility  began 
to  rise  throughout  the  early  1970s,  the  administration  began  to  challenge 
the  credibility  of  antiwar  veterans  through  legalistic  harassment  and  an 
all-out  PR-offensive  aimed  at  portraying  them  as  "bad." 

Lembcke  argues  that  the  Nixon-Agnew  campaign  of  public  spin  and 
covert  dirty  tricks  was  devastatingly  successful.  The  administration  not 
only  prolonged  the  war  another  six  years  but  perpetrated  a  wholesale 
revisioning  of  our  collective  memory  of  the  entire  war-era.  The  unprec- 
edented radicalization  and  activism  of  in-service  and  returning  military 
personnel  (one  1977  study  found  that  half  of  a\\  Vietnam  veterans  sup- 
ported an  anti-imperialist,  anti-capitalist  critique  of  the  war's  motives)", 
the  overwhelmingly  warm  feelings  of  most  veterans  towards  the  antiwar 
movement,  the  concerted  and  successful  ctTorts  at  outreach  towards  the 
former  by  the  latter;  all  were  written  out  of  public  memory  in  favor  of 


remembered  antagonism  and  mutual  hostility  between  the  two  groups. 
That  such  stories  resemble  both  the  post-World  War  I  German 
"Doltschuss  Legend."  the  belief  that  Gemian  veterans  were  "stabbed  in 
the  back"  on  the  home  front,  and  the  French  myth  of  domestic  betrayal 
following  their  defeat  in  Viet  Nam  in  1954  is  not  simply  a  coincidence; 
it  suggests,  according  to  Lembcke,  that  "these  tales  function  specifi- 
cally as  alibis  for  why  a  war  was  lost."  Significantly,  in  all  three  cases, 
he  writes, 

the  armies  represented  the  expansionist  interests  of  nations  with 
ideologies  of  cultural,  ethnic,  or  racial  superiority.  Unable  to  deal  with 
their  defeat  by  "inferior"  peoples  or  societies,  the  losing  colonizers  look 
for  reasons  for  their  defeat  at  home.  The  myth  of  the  betrayed,  abused 
veteran  is  a  classic  form  of  scapegoafing.' 

In  perhaps  the  most  intriguing  part  of  his  book.  Lembcke  reads  the 
discourse  of  disability  surrounding  the  Vietnam  veteran  as  itself  a  symp- 
tom of  liberal  middle-class  anxiety  over  the  threat  to  its  cultural  and 
economic  power  by  the  radical  and  nonwhite  youth  movements  unleashed 
in  the  sixties.  Seduced  by  the  fantasies  of  the  right,  anxious  middle- 
class  liberals  constmcted  an  interpretive  framework  for  their  lingering 
unease  about  the  war  and  its  veterans  which  relied  heavily  on  the  lan- 
guage of  journalism,  psychiatry  and,  increasingly  from  the  mid-'70s  on, 
Hollywood  film.  The  legitimization  of  Post  Traumatic  Stress  Disorder 
in  1 980  by  the  American  Psychiatric  Association  is  seen  by  Lembcke  as 
a  coup  with  wide  ranging  political  consequences.  What  had  been  dis- 
covered, he  writes,  "was  a  mode  of  discourse  that  enabled  authorities  to 
turn  the  radical  political  behavior  of  veterans  opposed  to  the  war  into  a 
pathology,  thereby  discrediting  them  in  the  public  mind."** 

If  this  is  the  most  intriguing  of  Lembcke's  interpretation  of  events, 
it  is  also  in  some  ways  the  least  satisfying.  For  although  the  psychiatric 
rhetoric  of  trauma  and  disability  may  well  have  inoculated  popular 
memory  to  the  political  dimension  of  the  antiwar  veterans'  activism,  the 
traumatic  insights  themselves — for  which  PTSD  is  perhaps  a  polite 
middle-class  label — still  retain  their  sharp  ability  to  offer  a  radicalizing 
critique  of  the  workings  of  American  imperial  technowar.  Many  of  the 
veterans  of  the  war  (a  significant  number  from  working-class  back- 
grounds) became  the  poets  and  writers  of  the  war  against  war  and  their 
literature  of  trauma  is  as  powerful  a  dissenting  tradition  as  any  in  Ameri- 
can history.  You  have  only  to  read  the  poetry  of  W.  D.  Ehrhart,  Bruce 
Wcigl,  or  Yusef  Komunyakaa  or  the  prose  of  Lynda  Van  Devanter,  Wayne 
Karlin,  or  Robert  Olen  Butler  to  discover  a  cogent  counterlanguage  of 
trauma  which  leads  not  to  amnesia  and  inertia  but  to  outrage,  painful 
political  reevaluation.  and  radical  engagement.  Lembcke  is  a  sociolo- 
gist, not  a  literary  critic,  but  his  wide-ranging  ambitions  could  surely 
have  benefited  from  some  recognition  of  the  less-than-total  monopoly 
of  the  anxious  middle-class  liberal  on  the  political  dimensions  of  war's 
traumatic  knowledge. 

Lembcke  also  underplays  the  gendered  dimensions  of  both  middle- 
class  anxiety  and  the  spitting  myth  itself  This  may  seem  an  odd  criti- 
cism in  light  of  his  chapter-long  discussion  of  "Women,  Wetness,  and 
Warrior  Dreams."  It  is,  however,  the  least  successful  chapter  in  the  book, 
as  well  as  being  the  shortest  (discounting  his  brief  conclusion).  Lembcke 
presents  a  paraphrased  hodgepodge  of  psychoanalytic  ideas  about  the 
complex  ties  between  masculinity  and  fascism  which  readers  would  be 
better  served  understanding  from  the  original  source."  Lembcke  also 
tends  to  add  his  observations  on  gender  and  the  re-membering  of  the 
war  almost  as  an  at^terthought  throughout  the  book;  I'd  suggest  it  is  im- 
possible to  fully  understand  the  complex  gendered  responses  to  and  col- 
lective memories  of  the  movements  against  the  war  without  also  ac- 
knowledging  the  central,  anxiety-producing  impact  the  emerging 
women's  liberation  movement  had  on  these  responses.  War  is,  after  all, 
the  single  most  destructive  expression  of  collective  masculine  identity 
in  the  world  today  which,  unsurprisingly,  tends  to  victimize  women  in 


'Lembcke.  71-72. 

'  See  Life  magazine's  October  24.  1 969  feature  story  for  one  noteworthy  example. 

■■  Quoted  in  Lembcke,  45. 

'  Quoted  in  Lembcke.  50. 

'■  John  P  Wilson.  "Idcniny.  Ideology,  and  Crisis:  the  Vietnam  Veteran  in  Transition.' 


part  1.  Research  Report.  Cleveland:  Cleveland  State  U.,  1977.  54. 
'  Lembcke,  89. 
"Lembcke.  110. 
''  See  Klaus  Theweleit.  Xfnlc  Fantasies.  2  vols.  Minneapolis:  U  of  Minnesota  P.  I9S7. 


■    I  ly  systematic  and  brutal  ways;  a  feminist  counterrevolution 

I  ..         mg  a  lost  wnr.  challenging  as  they  both  do  a  failed  and  corrosive 

I      11  of  masculinity,  must  surely  be  recognized  on  a  more  fundamental 
explanatory  level  than  Lembcke  allows. 

If  Lembcke's  book  fails  as  a  fully  coherent  account  of  the  masculinist 
drives  behind  war  and  the  rearticulation  of  its  memory,  it  still  succeeds 
as  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  rapidly  grow  ing  corpus  of  radical  schol- 
arly studies  of  an  era  and  it's  impact  the  country's  dominant  classes 
would  prefer  we  forget  altogether.  It  deserves  a  place  alongside  such 
essential  reading  as  H.  Bruce  Franklin's  M.I. A.,  or,  Mythmaking  in 
.America.  Christian  Appy 's  Working — Cla.s.s  War,  James  William  Gibson's 
Warrior  Dreams,  and  Richard  Moser's  The  New  Winter  Soldiers.'"  It's 
a  history  we  misunderstand  at  our  peril. 

'"  H.  Bruce  Kranklin,  M.I. .4..  or.  Mylhmaking  in  Amenta:  How  and  Why  Belie/  in 
Live  POWs  Has  Possessed  a  Nation.  New  York:  Lawrence  Hill,  1992;  Christian  Appy. 
Working-Class  Hue  .American  Combat  .Soldiers  and  lletnam.  Chapel  Hill:  U  of  N.  Caro- 
lina P.  1993;  James  William  Gibson.  Warrior  Dreams  Paramilitaiy  Culture  in  Post-Viet- 
nam .America.  New  York:  Hill  and  Wang,  1994;  Richard  Moser.  The  New  Winter  Soldiers: 
Gland  Veteran  Dissent  During  the  Vietnam  Era.  New  Brunswick,  NJ:  Rutger"s  UP,  1996. 


Vietnam  and  Other  American  Fantasies 

By  H.  Bruce  Franklin  (Univ.  of  Massachusetts  Press,  2000) 
Review  by  Mandy  Hackley 

H.  Bruce  Franklin's  newest  book.  Viettiain  and 
Other  .American  Fantasies,  is  a  truly  multifarious  book. 
It  could  easily  be  called  the  Vietnam  War  Myth  Reader. 
Franklin  licks  off  the  falsehoods  of  American  involve- 
ment in  Vietnam,  one  right  after  the  other  One  of  the 
first  myths  he  exposes  is  the  idea  that  the  mainstream 
American  media  caused  America  to  "lose"  the  Viet- 
nam War  Even  though  the  government  must  think  that 
this  is  the  case,  as  the  media  was  highly  regulated  dur- 
ing the  U.S.  invasion  of  Grenada  and  the  Gulf  War  He 
also  discredits  the  idea  that  war  protesters  consisted 
only  oflhe  upper  class  college-educated  crowd.  A  great 
majority  of  the  opposition  to  the  war  came  from  blue-collar  workers.  This  makes 
sense  since  it  is  usually  this  class  that  is  used  as  cannon  fodder  for  Uncle  Sam. 
Franklin  does  give  credit  to  university  teach-ins  as  a  great  anti-war  tool  but  he 
does  point  out  that  the  teach-ins  may  be  getting  more  credit  than  they  dcser\e. 

Franklin  is  most  prolific  when  he  discusses  how  science  fiction  created 
propaganda  for  and  against  the  war  As  someone  with  very  little  background  in 
science  fiction,  it  was  engrossing  to  read  how  Star  Trek  episodes  dealt  directly 
with  the  war  It  may  be  easy  to  write  otY Star  Trek  as  a  mere  television  show,  but 
Franklin  cites  two  pieces  of  evidence  to  refute  this:  A  model  of  the  Enterprise  is 
permanently  exhibited  at  the  Smithsonian's  National  Air  and  Space  Museum  and 
trekkers  had  enough  power  to  demand  that  the  U.S.  space  shuttle  Constitution  be 
renamed  the  Enterprise.  This  may  seem  trite  but  it  is  chilling  to  know  that  a  great 
deal  of  science  fiction  in  the  60s  centered  around  atomic  weaponry.  Certainly,  the 
more  militant  science  fiction  works  could  have  swayed  public  opinion  in  favor  of 
more  invoUement  in  Vietnam.  After  all.  a  billion  dollar  nuclear  arms  shield  has 
been  named  after  Star  Wars. 

Franklin  is  at  his  best  when  writing  about  the  POW  MIA  myth.  A  simple 
Internet  search  will  tell  you  that  this  myth  is  alive  and  well.  Franklin  asks  the 
very  simple  question  of  why  would  Vietnam  still  be  holding  Americans  as  pris- 
oners and  what  purpose  does  this  myth  serve?  (^ne  puipose  the  myth  serves  is  as 
America's  excuse  to  continue  economic  and  political  warfare  against  Vietnam.  It 
is  disturbing  to  read  that  the  former  head  of  the  Pentagon  acknowledged  that  the 
government  deliberately  placed  people  on  the  POW  MIA  list.  In  this  way  the 
Vietnamese  could  never  explain  the  fake  POWs  and  hence  the  myth  could  li\e 
forever 

Unfortunately  franklin's  arguemeni  is  often  discredited  by  his  failure  to 
cite  sources.  Unfoundetl  statements  like.  "One  would  never  be  able  to  guess  from 
public  discourse  that  for  every  American  Veteran  in  combat,  there  must  be  twenty 
veterans  in  the  anti-war  movement"  (4S)  do  a  disservice  to  the  legitimacy  of  his 
claims. 

Franklin  has  already  touched  on  a  great  deal  of  the  same  matenal  in  other  writ- 
ings, but  this  b<H)k  is  not  redundant  and  is  still  an  inlea'sling.  if  conIn)versial,  read. 


Hie  Ann  Arbor 


There  are  those  precious  few  moments  in  life 
when  it  all  comes  together;  when  the  usual  limitations 
of  what  is  possible  do  not  exist,  the  law  s  of  social 
physics  are  suspended,  and  certainly  those  pesky  laws 
enforced  by  bored  cops  are  simply  ignored.  Those  mo- 
ments when  everything  you  believ  e  in  and  everything 
you  enjoy  comes  to  life.  Maybe  you  felt  it  during  the 
WTO  protests  in  Seattle,  or  when  you  first  discov- 
ered zincs,  or  maybe  just  riding  your  bike  home  after 
quitting  your  crappy  job.  Or  maybe  you  were  at  the 
3"*  Annual  Ann  Arbor  Hot  Rod  Shopping  Cart  Race. 
Here's  what  happens:  At  the  stroke  of  midnight 
on  a  vveeknight  in  late  summer,  four  lanes  of  main 
thoroughfare  are  taken  over  for  a  parade  and  race 
through  downtown  Ann  Arbor.  Michigan.  What  is  usu- 
ally a  quiet  street  lined  with  over-priced  crap-selling 
boutiques  and  even  more  expensive  restaurants  ech- 
oes with  the  rumbling  of  shopping  carts  reaching  top 
speed,  accompanied  by  the  hoots  and  hollers  of  all 
involved,  as  well  as  various  revelers  and  astounded 
passersby  (not  to  mention  people  trying  to  drive  up 
the  street). 

It's  a  spontaneous  happening,  through  and 
through.  Somewhere  along  the  line,  a  few  people  fig- 
ure on  the  date  and  make  flyers  that  start  showing  up 
a  month  or  two  before  the  race.  Stencils  are 
spraypaintcd  in  strate-  gic  locations.  Mostly 

it's     just  word  of  iTiouth.  The 

nightofthcrace.  ev- 
ery one  meets  up  at 
the  designated  lo- 
cation (the  sleazy 

^    „  ^ 24-hour  diner. 

IT   DAjCE    ■      roosting  place 

of  every  lost 

soul         and 

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when     we 

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longer. 

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Hot  Rod 


II I 


Cart  Race 


by  John  Gerken 


starting  line  and  race  down  the  hill.  It's  a  rowdy  procession  indeed;  pirates  and 
clowns,  dragons,  monsters,  drag  queens  and  road  warriors,  farmers  and  water 
balloons  and  bicycles,  insects  and  space  creatures. 

Needless  to  say,  it's  a  pretty  amazing  thing  to  see  60  or  so  people  dress  up, 
decorate  shopping  carts,  and  take  to  the  streets  for  a  parade  and  race  practically 
through  the  middle  of  downtown. 

We  got  the  idea  from  kids  in  Vancouver.  BC,  who  generally  hold  their  race 
in  July,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  day  no  less.  Why  not  spread  the  gospel'.'  The 
summer  of  their  first,  we  had  ours  as  well.  It  was  about  30  people  total,  not  many 
more  than  1 0  carts.  But  it  was  the  blueprint  for  what  w  as  to  come;  ridiculous 
costumes,  torches,  lots  of  screaming  and  yelling.  A  celebratory  act  of  inspiration. 

Every  year  has  seen  an  increase  of  people.  This  past  year,  the  Third  Annual, 
at  least  150  people  turned  out.  There  were  probably  25  carts  all  decked  out  and 
ready  to  race,  and  this  year  saw  the  first  welding,  as  well  as  bicycle  hybrid  carts. 
At  some  point,  someone  said  (tongue  in  cheek,  of  course,  or  perhaps  just  a  bit 
drunk).  "This  is  the  next  Burning  Man."  I'll  certainly  never  look  at  a  shopping 
cart  the  same  way  again. 

These  people  aren't  necessarily  artists  or  activists.  But  that's  the  point.  It's 
mostly  a  bunch  of  scrappy  kids  out  to  have  some  fun.  But  there  is  an  implicit 
politics  to  it,  just  as  there  is  whenever  you  take  a  mundane,  everyday  object  and 
get  creative  with  it.  When  you  take  something  that  \vc  all  see  e\  ery  day  and  make 
it  art,  or  something  slyly  subversive.  This  is  how  we  celebrate  the  end  of  summer 
in  Ann  Arbor 

This  is  our  carnival-esque  critique  of  consumerism.  Satirical  indeed,  to  push 
around  another  human  in  what  is  usually  the  carriage  of  shrink-wrapped  and 
packaged  goods.  To  take  this  vehicle  of  purchase  and  remove  it  from  its  usual 
context  (shipping  garish  store-bought  crap  from  the  overflowing  supermarket 
aisles,  to  the  checkout  line,  to  the  car)  is  subversive,  to  be  sure.  To  take  this 
instrument  of  capitalism,  emancipate  it  entirely  from  its  previous  occupation  and 
turn  it  into  a  parade  fioat  soap-box  derby  racer  carries  a  subtle  message  that  is  not 
to  be  misread.  That  is.  we  don't  give  a  fuck  about  shopping  with  these  things. 
We're  here  to  dress  up  and  race.  We're  here  to  reclaim  public  space  and  have  a 
good  time  doing  it.  We're  here  to  take  private  property  and  transform  it  into 
public  art.  We're  here  to  give  everyone  a  lively  example  of  getting  creative  in  a 
place  that  leaves  no  options  for  those  under  18,  with  little  money,  and'or  other 
similarly  disenfranchised  folks  (that  is,  just  about  everywhere).  WTiile  this  isn't 
an  explicitly  political  action,  like  a  blockade,  march,  or  demo  with  signs  and 
chants,  it  seems  to  me  that  any  time  we  have  fun  and  do  what  wc  want  in  public 
it  can  be.  at  least  implicitly,  an  expression  of  our  sense  of  community  and  desire 
for  change.  It  is  an  act  of  civil  disobedience  to  take  over  the  streets  and  have  a 
party,  to  reclaim  streets  in  this  culture  dominated  by  the  cult  of  the  automobile, 
especially  in  a  place  where  almost  everything  is  geared  toward  profit  and  adult 
spaces,  where  kids  are  given  no  outlet  or  option.  In  this  age  of  sterilized  corpo- 
rate marketing,  dumbed-down  mass  culture  entertainment  and  MTV  Spring  Break, 
simply  having  fun  in  public  is  an  act  of  resistance  and  rebellion.  * 

(And  sorry,  but  it's  hard  to  find  good  action  photos  of  the  race  itself  Who 
the  hell  can  be  bothered  to  point,  focus,  and  shoot  a  camera  when  something  this 
ridiculous  is  going  on?  We're  too  caught  up  in  it  all  to  think  about  anything  but 
the  moment.) 


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Getting  Down  on  My  Fann 

The  Dickel  Brothers  Sing  About  Chickens  and  Whisky 

Words  and  Photos  by  Sunfrog 


Hailing  from  Oregon,  sounding  like  the  deep  soulli.  and  owing  a 
spiritual  debt  to  DIY  punk.  The  Dickel  Brothers  are  not  the  first  folk 
outfit  to  combine  contemporary  attitudes  v\ ith  primitixe  sounds.  In  the 
late  198()"s.  a  handful  of  musicians  from  New  York's  lower  Hast  Side 
spawned  the  anti-folk  movement  and  balladeers  like  Roger  Manning 
toured  incessantly,  singing  scorching  lyrical  poems  of  social  dissent  and 
romantic  bitterness.  At  the  .same  time.  Michelle  Shocked's  highly-prai.sed 
early  records  captured  the  spirit  of  anarchist  cultural  rc\  olution  w  ith 
campfire  melodies.  More  recently,  people  like  Ani  DiFranco  and  Casey 
Neill  have  re-invented  the  brash  topical  folk  song  with  remarkable  in- 
tegrity and  fiair.  And  anarcho-octogenarian  Utah  Phillips  has  seen  his 
career  revitalized  through  collaborations  with  OiKranco  and  his  unwa- 
vering commitment  lo  playing  gigs  on  theacti\ist  cnvuil  for  IW  \\.  l-arlh 
First!,  and  other  anti-authoritarian  causes. 

In  an  nitcn  icw  in  late  "99.  The  Dickels  remarkeii  that  ihcir  gritty 
old-school  sound  grounded  in  fiddle,  mandolin,  washboard,  banjo, 
guitar  and  stand-up  bass  w  as  destined  to  sur\  i\  e  \'2K.  e\  en  i  f  the  pow  er 
grid  went  dow n.  Not  too  many  techno,  house,  or  rock  ensembles  would 
have  much  to  do  in  an  unplugged  universe,  but  some  musicians  happily 
embrace  fonns  that  predate  -  and  may  outlast— the  digital  revolution. 
As  we  craw  I  inio  the  new  century  to  the  numbing  noise  of  the  info- 
technocracy,  traditional  musical  forms  are  experiencing  (yet  another) 
well-deserved  revival.  The  Dickel  Brothers'  spirited  and  intoxicating 
interpretation  of  old-time  string  music  is  on  the  cutting  edge  of  the  latest 
wa\e.  as  former  punks  sip  the  moonshine  i>f  their  forefalhers,  and  we  all 
gel  seriously  lolked  up. 

The  story  of  how  1  he  DickcK  ended  up  \isiling  my  communal 
farm  in  the  hills  of  Tennessee  and  playing  a  lively,  two-set  show  in  the 
middle  of  a  field  deserses  some  backuround.  In  Mav  2000.  I  attended 


the  Festival  of  Fantasy  Fulfillment  in  the  Sierra  Mountains  (the  retelling 
of  that  gathering's  highlights  \v  ill  have  to  wait  for  another  story).  There. 
I  met  Michael  Dickel.  who,  w  hen  he  wasn't  eating  or  sleeping,  was  prob- 
ably playing  the  fiddle.  Much  later.  I  learned  that  in  the  band  Michael 
focuses  on  mandolin  and  washboard  and  has  only  recently  taken  up 
fiddlin'.  My  novice  ears  would  not  have  known  he  was  a  beginner  from 
the  mystic  sounds  w  afting  across  the  dramatic  heights  that  eloud>  w  eek- 
end.  Before  lea\  ing  the  mountains.  1  in\  ited  Michael  to  \  isit  me  in  Ten- 
nessee w  hen  his  band  rambled  through.  .A  couple  of  months  and  a  hand- 
ful of  e-mails.  letters,  and  phone  calls  later.  I  had  confirmed  that  The 
Dickel  Brothers  would  play  the  inaugural  show  at  the  Dismal  Church  of 
the  Heathen  Scum,  the  future  music  studio  and  workshop  being  created 
by  niN  communard  (ieorge  on  land  adjacent  to  our  120-acre  Pumpkin 
Hollow  Community. 

Here  in  the  rural  counterculture  of  middle  Tennessee,  our  frequent 
jam  sessions  are  pureK  acoustic  by  necessitv  and  choice.  Win  bring  a 
mile  long  extension  cord  or  a  gas-powered  generator  to  the  hootenaniiN 
if  it's  not  required?  Why  drain  the  stored  solar  energy  at  an  otT-the-grid 
commune  w  hen  our  \  oices.  drums,  and  guitars  are  loud  enough  b>  them- 
selves? While  we  all  ha\ e  access  to  electricity,  w  hether  solar  or  from  the 
utilities,  we  often  go  w  ithout.  lighting  our  e\ enings  w  ith  candles  and  oil 
lamps  i>r  playing  a  pure  Ibnn  olold-fashioncd  music.  In  light  of  this 
existing  tradition.  I  couldn't  think  of  a  more  appropriate  act  than  The 
Dickel  Brothers  to  show  up  at  our  land  in  their  beat  up  w  hite  Ford  \  an  to 
commence  what  will  hopefulls  become  a  series  of  mral  gigs  for  touring 
troubadours,  and  croon  to  a  crowd  of  local  hippies  and  hillbillies. 

Indeed,  a  quick  perusal  of  the  songs  the  Dickel  Brothers  have  cho- 
sen lo  rev  ive  demonstrates  a  profound  aflmity  to  a  tumultuous,  yet  tcn- 
iler.  dow  n-homc  discourse  of  dailv  life  that  existed  before  lelev  ision  and 


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the  tyranny  of  the  trend.  As  the  band  began  lo  play  tor  us  from  a  Hatbed 
trailer  that  doubled  as  a  stage.  1  thought.  "AH  the  songs  arc  about  chick- 
ens and  whiskey."  Well,  the  songs  are  also  about  bams  and  bibles,  chit- 
lins  and  children,  rambling  and  redemption,  infidelity  and  unemploy- 
ment, wars  and  weddings  and  funerals.  The  songs  are  real.  The  songs 
are  not  about  dot-coms  and  deadheads,  bubblegum  and  BMW's,  or  Gore 
and  Bush.  The  information  age  is  known  for  its  virtual  reality,  its  cyber- 
glossed  illusions,  fantasies,  and  escapes.  Against  the  grain  of  this  hol- 
low hyperworld.  putrid  and  impotent  nostalgia  abounds,  from  "family 
values"  denial  revivals  to  new-age  neo-tribal  delusions  to  such  collec- 
tive jokes  as  "reality  television."  The  Dickels  could  easily  fall  into  a 
similar  trap  of  culture  thievery.  What  business  do  these  twenty-some- 
thing west-coast  post-punks  ha\e  claiming  the  \emacular  legacy  of  a 
Depression-era  idiom  of  the  dust  bou  1.  the  moonshine  still,  and  the  cot- 
ton field?  However,  this  band  avoids  this  snare  with  a  frightening  sin- 
cerity and  a  savvy  focus  on  their  craft.  To  close  your  eyes  and  listen  to 
these  dudes  sing  and  play  is  to  feel  your.self  transported  to  ditTerent  time. 
Upon  opening  your  eyes,  you  may  believe,  as  1  do.  that  time  no  longer 
matters  once  inside  these  songs. 

A  "genre"  that  actually  spans  hundreds  of  years,  traditional  folk 
music  has  a  timeless  quality  that  transcends  the  trite  packaging  of  eras 
and  categories  that  we  are  accustomed  to  now.  The  Dickels  preoccupa- 
tion with  old-time  is  qualitatively  different  than  say.  the  fetishization  of 
the  70"s  or  80"s  currently  in  vogue.  The  Dickels  may  not  be  Woody 
Guthrie,  the  Monroe  Brothers,  the  Carter  Family,  or  the  North  Carolina 
Ramblers,  but  they're  not  A  Flock  of  Seagulls  or  Foghat  on  the  next 
reunion  tour  either.  According  to  Michael.  The  Dickels  are  not  "worried 
about  being  trapped  in  a  genre"  because  so  much  old-time  music  exists 
for  them  to  (re)discover. 


In  actuality,  we  live  in  such  an  ahistorical  era  that  many  young 
people's  concept  of  folk  music  begins  with  Jewel;  teenagers  today  don't 
know  the  protest  songs  of  Bob  Dylan.  Pete  Seeger.  and  Phil  Ochs  from 
the  1960's.  inuch  less  the  rustic  treasures  from  the  20's  and  30's  that  the 
Dickel  [brothers  ha\e  uneailhed  for  our  listening  pleasure.  Pleasure,  in- 
deed. On  a  thankfully  mild  August  afternoon,  we  gathered  with  eom- 
on-the-cob,  potato  chips,  potato  salad,  chocolate  cake,  cheap  union-made 
beer,  and  a  mason  jar  of  moonshine.  We  found  ourselves  with  lawn  chairs 
and  ramshackle  benches  and  a  bonfire  of  brush  in  a  freshly  mowed  field 
about  a  mile  from  nowhere.  It  felt  like  a  family  picnic;  in  fact,  the  band 
likes  shows  of  this  kind  because  "we  get  much  younger  and  much  older 
people  when  we  play  outside  of  bars." 

The  Dickels  jammed,  and  we  danced.  We  passed  a  hat  to  raise  money 
for  the  band  and  for  our  commune.  Pumpkin  Hollow  will  use  the  cash, 
appropriately,  to  build  a  chicken  coop.  In  the  age  of  spectacle,  perfomi- 
ers  and  their  audience  are  separated  by  the  overstated  impact  of  image 
and  often  by  a  huge  stage,  rent-a-cop  bouncers,  and  roadies.  At  Pump- 
kin Hollow.  v\hen  The  Dickels  second  set  ended  and  some  of  us  stumbled 
back  up  the  hollow  in  a  moonshme  haze,  the  party  persisted  as  guests 
brought  out  their  own  instruments  and  the  music  continued  around  the 
fire.  I  went  to  see  The  Dickels  again  two  days  later  in  a  bar  in 
Murfreesboro  and  confirmed,  as  I'd  heard  was  true,  that  The  Dickels 
bring  a  certain  raw  immediacy  to  their  shows  no  matter  the  venue.  In  a 
sense.  1  enjoyed  the  bar  show  more  than  the  farm  gig,  simply  because  I 
wasn't  responsible  for  producing  it  (and  the  house  beer  at  Sebastian's 
didn't  kick  my  ass  nearly  as  hard  as  the  moonshine  I'd  sipped  on  Sun- 
day at  Pumpkin).  The  Dickel  Brothers  are  definitely  worth  checking  out 
whether  they  wander  into  a  local  w  atering  hole  or  end  up  singing  around 
a  campfire  in  your  backyard.  * 


[culture] 


Folked .  U 


ext  Gener 


Tennessee 


uajncing  in  Tne  bonic  urejamiana 

Idapalooza  Begmrthe  Next  Generation  of  Queer  Music  Festivals 

Words  and  Photos  by  Sunfrog 


Seasonal  and  communal  carniv  als  wed  ecstasy  to  e\  ent  and  have 
been  a  part  of  humanity's  heritage  for  millennia.  Whether  religious  or 
cultural,  archaic  or  modern,  the  festival  marks  a  time  when  people 
abandon  workaday  norms  and  adopt  unique  levels  of  creativity  as  ex- 
pressed in  music,  food,  dance,  costume  and  ritual.  In  the  loose  and 
lively  network  of  radical  faerie  coinmunes  located  in  the  hills  of  Middle 
Tennessee,  we  take  our  celebrating  seriously;  parties  bring  our  extended 
community  of  friends  and  neighbors  together  like  nothing  else,  and 
often  the  extended  community  extends  beyond  borders,  attracting  an 
international  assortment  of  eccentric  artists  and  activists  to  our  pecu- 
liar niche  of  alternative  living.  Our  autumn  soiree  season  commences 
at  IDA'S  annual  Artland  gathering  (and  pretty  much  lasts  until  the  Winter 
Solstice). 

According  to  IDA's  own  MaxZinc.  Artland  is  "a  time  for  artists 
and  lovers  of  the  arts  to  get  together  in  the  woods  and  feast  on  music, 
crafts,  performance  and  culinary  delights  in  an  open  community.  It  is  a 
queer  gathering:  with  the  word  queer  broadly  defined  beyond  sexual- 
ity and  undefined  so  that  all  can  feel  welcome." 

Pre\  ious  .Artlands  of  note  focused  on  creating  theater  or  a  surreal 
circus  while  some  had  no  theme  beyond  art  through  anarchy  and  spon- 
taneity. This  year's  feast  of  fun,  the  most  ambitious  to-date,  was  the 
first  Idapalooza  Fruit  Jam  Music  Festival.  Bending  definitions  and  ex- 
ceeding the  expectations  of  either  a  faerie  gathering  or  a  music  festi- 
val, Idapaloo/a  pro\  ided  a  multidimensional  happening  of  chaotic 
harmony  and  collective  hedonism. 

Faerie  gatherings  in  Tennessee  gi\e  new  meaning  to  such  con- 
cepts as  remote,  rural,  and  out-of-the-way.  Reaching  Ida  rcqinrcs  a 
good  map  and  stoic  patience  balanced  by  an  appetite  for  ad\enturc. 
Upon  arrival,  newcomers  will  immediately  notice  that  they're  "not  in 
Kansas  anymore."  For  most  visitors,  the  initial  change  of  scenery  and 
pace  is  enchanting  and  invigorating,  and  they  didn't  e\en  mind  the 
primitive  facilities  that  Duncan  league  of  .Atlanta's  .iJoJi  Stti.sc  called 
"the  best  outiloor  toilets  in  the  world." 


Chicago's  Scott  Free  shares  Teague's  appreciation  of  the  rustic  pot- 
ties: "The  vastly  decorated  shrine  that  is  the  outhouse  is  a  Kodak  mo- 
ment in  itself"  Occasionally,  a  stranger  might  disembark  in  Ida's  wooded 
hollow  of  wcirdness  and  wonder,  only  to  leave  an  hour  later.  Fortu- 
nately, most  stay.  Idapaloo/a  pro\  ided  memories  and  stories  to  last  a 
lifetime-   or  at  least  until  the  next  gathering. 

An  Ida  festival  is  not  for  passive  consumers.  Artland  is  not 
McCulture  and  Ida  is  not  a  rural  version  of  the  urban  queer  scene. 
When  a  person  arrives  at  Ida,  there's  no  geek  in  an  orange  vest  telling 
her  where  to  park.  There's  no  Coke  machine.  ,\t  Idapalooza,  they  didn't 
even  ha\e  t-shirts  for  sale!  There  were  no  tickets  to  buy  or  gates  to 
walk  through  (guests  simply  made  a  donation,  based  on  a  suggested 
fee,  to  an  Ida  resident  and  no  one  was  turned  away  for  lack  of  funds). 
Void  of  the  crass  commodification  that  turns  many  music  festivals 
into  orgies  of  commerce.  Idapalooza's  success  depended  on  the  sounds 
created  by  all  its  participants.  From  the  informal  improvisational  jam 
sessions  on  a  blanket  under  a  tarp  on  a  rainy  afternoon  to  Saturday's 
stellar  lO-hour  concert  (which  was  thankfully  dry).  Idapalooza  orga- 
nizers made  good  on  their  pledge  to  transform  their  240  acres  into  a 
"sonic  dreamland." 

Both  the  w  eaiher  and  the  sound  s\  stem  threatened  to  put  a  serious 
damper  on  the  quirky  delights  of  Saturday.  September  23.  The  skies 
opened  up  in  the  late  morning  and  rather  than  complain  about  the  rain, 
several  people  ditched  all  clothes  and  danced  naked  in  the  lush  Ida  gar- 
den Perhaps  this  was  the  anti-raindance  we  needed.  The  downpour 
turned  into  a  drizzle,  then  stopped  just  in  time  for  the  show.  It  rained 
again  later  that  evening  as  tired  performers  and  fans  slumbered  in  their 
tents.  The  rented  stuind  equipment  required  patience  from  performers, 
fans,  and  the  engineers  who  volunteered  to  operate  it.  Legitimate  frus- 
trations with  technology  aside,  the  music  carried  the  day  despite  the 
brief  assaults  of  droning,  squealing  feedback-from-hell. 

Max/ine  and  Tom  Fooleiv  began  the  jam  with  songs  (like  Tom's 
"Big  (iirl")  and  jokes  (like  MaxZinc "s  admonishment:  "Do  not  take  the 


[culture] 


Facing  page.  Angela  Motter  (on  left);  Above  (clockwise):  Yolanda,  Tom  and  Maxzine,  Tom  Foolery  and  Yolanda 


brown  aspirin"),  as  they  repeatedly  insisted,  "This  is  not  the  show!  This 
is  a  sound-eheck!"  Scott  Free  followed  with  a  short  set  ofbrisk,  cynical 
love  ballads.  Then,  when  her  outfit  was  finally  ready,  Yolanda  took  the 
stage  in  the  best  drag  of  the  day.  (During  Yolanda's  set,  Tom  Foolery  re- 
appeared as  psychedelic  cowgirl  on  stilts  to  challenge  Yolanda's  status 
as  Queen  for  a  day).  Feeling  like  a  mi.xture  of  disco  glam  and  gospel 
jam,  Yolanda  re-invented  herself  with  each  song  that  was  as  loud  as  her 
leopard  print  spandex.  Much  of  her  work  shed  redemptive  light  on  ar- 
chetypes of  nastiness  such  as  "bitch"  and  "control  queen." 

Following  Yolanda,  .'Xdodi  Muse  took  the  stage  for  a  spellbinding 
set  of  performance  poetry.  Imagine  Gil  Scott  Heron  or  the  Last  F'oets 
stripped  of  their  machismo  and  homophobia,  and  you  can  get  a  sense  of 
the  powerful  commentary  on  black  queer  culture  this  trio  from  Atlanta 
dishes  up.  Like  postmodern  James  Baldwins,  these  men  seamlessly 
weave  notions  of  religion,  sexuality,  and  politics  into  an  emotionally 
emphatic  quilt  of  theater,  poetry,  and  rap. 

Next,  Angela  Motter's  bluesy,  folksy,  funky  set  reminded  me  of 
some  of  the  80's  most  dynamic  divas,  people  like  Phranc  and  Annie 
Lennox.  She  shifted  effortlessly  from  softer  paeans  of  gender  bent  lust 
and  freedom  to  angry  songs  with  punk  intensity  to  a  joyful  dance  num- 
ber that  had  the  entire  crowd  moving  and  singing  along.  At  the  close  of 
Angela's  set,  the  sun  also  set.  Some  folks  .scampered  off  to  their  tents 
for  evening  attire  while  others  sampled  the  lavish  vegetarian  buffet. 
Before  the  next  headliner,  local  lyricist  Leopard  made  us  all  laugh  with 
a  gritty  homage  to  his  12-cup  espresso  maker. 

When  Pistol  Pete  and  Popgun  Paul  start  to  croon,  the  faeries 
swoon.  This  New  Orleans  duo  helped  visualize  the  Idapalooza  con- 
cept during  last  fall's  Artland  and  appeared  in  top  form  when  their  set 
finally  arrived.  Regulars  at  most  Tennessee  faerie  gatherings,  the 
"Simon  and  Garfunkel  of  Homocore"  played  a  spontaneous  set  of  songs 
from  their  discs  Fine  Red  Wine  and  Son  of  a  Gun.  Rather  than  refer  to 
a  planned  list.  Pete  and  Paul  took  cues  from  fans  shouting  requests. 
With  angelic  ballads  like  "What  If  God  Was  a  Homo"  and  "Evolution 


of  Love"  Pistol  and  Popgun  gave  the  community  a  lush  look  at  life 
through  the  lens  of  unlimited  erotic  ardor  and  impeccably  crisp  musi- 
cianship. 

After  a  sound-check  that  seemed  to  last  days.  Bitch  (of  Bitch  and 
Animal)  finally  began  her  set  with  percussionist  Omecca.  Amid  a  day 
of  so  many  pinnacles  and  peaks,  it  may  seem  pointless  to  say  Bitch's 
performance  was  the  best.  However,  I  must  say  she  stole  the  show  with 
attitude  and  charm.  Despite  performing  without  half  her  band  (Animal 
did  not  make  the  trip  to  Tennessee),  jamming  with  a  person  she'd  only 
rehearsed  with  a  handful  of  times,  dealing  with  the  most  frustrating 
sound-check  in  a  day  of  difficult  sound-checks,  accepting  gracefully 
the  constant  pestering  of  a  devoted  7-year-old  fan,  and  having  her  set 
cut  short  due  to  time  constraints.  Bitch  blazed  through  her  songs  and 
manifestos  with  dynamic  \ irtuosity. 

Maintaining  an  intense  intimacy  with  the  crowd.  Bitch's  perfor- 
mance lured  people  off  their  blankets,  lawn  chairs,  and  hay  bales  to 
crowd  the  stage,  to  dance,  to  sing,  to  shout.  From  her  parodic  interpre- 
tations of  gospel  and  country  styles  to  her  fierce  electric  fiddling  to  her 
moments  of  inspired  improvisation.  Bitch  blew  us  away.  My  favorite 
moment  had  to  be  her  "Pussy  Manifesto"  rant.  Not  since  Bongwater's 
Ann  Magnuson  penned  "The  Power  of  Pussy"  have  music  fans  experi- 
enced such  a  brilliant  and  beatific  reclamation  of  the  cunt.  Of  all  the 
clever  rhetorical  hooks  in  Bitch's  piece  of  punk  performance  art,  I  most 
enjoyed  her  suggestion  that  we  learn  to  compliment  people  with  the 
expression  "she's  got  eggs"  (as  opposed  to  the  familiar  "that  took  balls"). 
After  Bitch,  a  Nashville  dance  band  closed  the  show;  however,  the  show- 
had  already  climaxed  for  me. 

While  the  queer  music  festival  scene  primarily  consists  of  women's 
events,  Idapalooza  broke  new  ground  by  creating  a  mixed  gender  melo- 
dious mecca  for  freaks  of  all  ages.  Hopefully,  next  year's  festival  will 
attract  even  more  people  to  this  impressively  noncommercial,  one-of- 
kind  celebration.  .^ 


[culture] 


eaponS  ^J^  ^J^ank  C])istribution 


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*  HODGEPODGE* 


TWO  NEW  ISSUES  OUT  NOW! 

ISSUE  SEVEN  FEATURES...     h» 

In  depth  articlM  on  th«  cultural  ganocida  of  tha  Dinah  Native  Amaricans,  resisting  miTitarism,  a 
political  bicycle  tour,  the  gap  &  sweatshops,  revolutionary  ecology,  the  iww...  Plus  interviev/s  with 
the  Waakerthans,  Anti-Product,  the  Red  House  Painters,  student  activists,  and  a  stripper  turned 
union  organizer.   Book,  zine,  music  reviews,  &  more.  100  pages.  Full  color  cover  $4.00  ppd. 


.    ISSUE  SIX  FEATURES... 

Extensive  articles  on  the  WTO  protests,  dioxin  in  tampons,  genetically  engineered  food,  our  cul- 
ture of  civilization,  the  WTO  ond  corporate  globalization.  Plus  interviews  with  Catharsis,  human 
rights  activist  Anurodho  AAittol,  Roiner  Maria,  Daniel  Quinn  (author  of  Ishmael),  and  the 
.Dismemberment  Plan.    Book,  zine,  music  revievi^  &  more.   100  pages.  2  color  cover.  $3.50  ppd.. 


Announcing.. 


new  Anarchist  newspaper 


0.\WARD  is  a  new  quarterly  .AnarchLst 
newspaper  dedicated  to  strengthening 
the  revolutionarj  Anarchist  movemenL 
As  both  activism  and  state  repression 
rise,  Ol^WARD  seeks  to  strengthen  the 
movement  by  acting  as  a  forum  for  news 
of  revolts  worldwide;  theory;  history; 
opinion;  political  prisoners,  and  other 
issues  pertaining  to  the  actualization  of 
social  revolution. 

Issue  2  (fall  2000)  out  now! 

Issue  1  (summer  2000)  still  available ! 

Submissions  are  always  welcome. 

Single  issues  are  available  for  $2  post- 
age paid  in  the  US,  $3  elsewhere.  Annual 
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ChoitT.B  •  53^3  H^c^f^f^y 


At  the  first  streak  in  the  plastic 
window  you  call  her. 

-How  dark  does  it  have  to  be? 

-Shit,  she  says.  Ten  minutes  later 
she  is  at  your  door. 

You  sit  on  the  toilet  and  cry.  From 
the  edge  of  the  bathtub  she  reaches  over 
and  touches  your  back. 

-You're  okay. 

-Yeah.    . 

She  makes  you  coffee.  You  wipe  your 
nose. 

-It  could  be  worse,  you  say  later.  Thank 
God  I  live  in  this  country. 

-Hell,  she  says,  thank  God  you  live  in 
this  state.      h 

Everywhere  you  go  you  see  women  with 
infants.  Large  women  with  small  infants,  small 
women  with  large  infants,  infants  with  snot 
mnning  from  their  noses.  Clean  infants,  grubby 
infants,  infants  screaming,  infants  smiling  and 
stretching  chubby  anns  toward  you  from  stroll- 
ers. Your  neighbors  have  a  bumper  sticker  on 
their  car  that  reads.  Aren't  You  Glad  Your 
Mother  Was  Pro-Life?  They  spend  a  lot  of  time 
in  their  yard,  and  wave  at  you  as  you  bike  past 
them  on  sunny  afternoons.  You  wave  back. 
They  seem  like  nice  people. 

In  your  high  scliool  French  class  you  learned  that 
"I  am  full"  is  slang  tor  "I  am  pregnant."  Perhaps  the 
receptionist  will  speak  French.  You  will  dial  and  say  "Je 
suis  plein"  and  the  receptionist  will  understand  immedi- 
ately. Everything  will  be  taken  care  offer  you. 

-Hello,  you  say.  I  need  to  make  an  appointment 
please,  and  then  you  say  the  word  and  there  is  a  long 
silence. 

-Have  you  had  it  confimiod? 

-The  line  was  pink. 

-We  cannot  schedule  a  tennination  procedure  with- 
out confmnation  of  conception,  the  receptionist  says,  and 
hangs  up  on  you.S 

She  holds  your  hand  in  the  waiting  room.  The  last 
time  you  had  a  confirmation,  you  were  Catholic.  Next 
to  "Do  you  drink  do  you  smoke  have  you  ever  used 
illegal  drugs  have  you  been  sexually  active  in  the  last 
six  months  are  you  female"  you  check  the  Yes  box. 


When  you  are  finished  your  cheeks  are  red.  After  45  minutes  some- 
one calls  your  name  and  leads  you  to  a  little  room  with  a  picture  of 
seagulls  on  the  ceiling.  After  15  minutes  someone  else  comes  in  and 
takes  your  blood  pressure  and  gives  you  a  cup  to  pee  in.  After  you 
have  taken  the  cup  to  the  bathroom  and  peed  in  the  cup  and  placed  it 
inside  the  indicated  box  being  sure  to  carefully  mark  your  name  in  the 
space  provided  you  go  back  to  the  seagull  room.  You  wait  there  for 
another  15  minutes  and  someone  else  comes  in.  You  know  it  is  the 
doctor  because  of  the  white  coat. 
-Well,  the  doctor  says,  what  were  you  planning  on  doing  about  it? 

You  start  to  cry  again. 

-I'm  in  between  appointments,  the  doctor  says.  I  don't  have  a  lot  of 

time.  Were  you  planning  on  continuing  a  relationship  with  the  father? 

In  the  car  you  tell  her  how  you  had  to  take  your  clothes  off  in  front 
of  the  doctor  because  the  doctor  would  not  leave  the  room. 

-Jesus,  she  says.  Planning  to  continue  a  relationship  with  the  fa- 
ther? You  should  have  told  the  bitch  you  did  it  yourself  with  a  turkey 
baster. 

You  start  laughing  at  the  idea  of  this  and  then  you  are  laughing  and 
crying  at  the  same  time  and  you  keep  making  hideous  choking  noises. 
-The  Butterball  baby!  she  shrieks  and  then  you  are  both  laughing  so 
hard  that  she  has  to  pull  otTthe  road. 

A  man  in  a  pickup  truck  honks  at  her,  for  not  using  her  turn  signal  or 
maybe  just  on  general  principle. 

-Want  a  cigarette?  she  says.  Here,  you  need  one. 

This  time  when  you  call  you  have  the  piece  of  paper  the  doctor  has 
given  you  telling  you  what  you  already  knew.  You  say  -1  would  like  to 
make  an  appointment  for  a  termination  procedure  please.  The  word  is 
not  mentioned.  You  are  put  on  hold.  Yesterday  after  she  drove  you  home 
she  sat  in  your  kitchen  and  told  you  it  would  have  a  heartbeat  in  a  few 
weeks.  You  wondered  if  it  might  grow  up  to  look  like  you.  You  put  your 
hands  on  the  part  of  your  belly  that  sticks  out  and  said  -If  it  were  a  girl 
I  would  name  it  Lucy.  She  rolled  her  eyes  at  you. 

-It's  lower,  dumbass.  The  part  you've  got  your  hands  on  is  just  fat. 
It's  right  here,  she  said,  and  flattened  her  palm  across  the  top  of  your 
crotch. 

-How  far  along  are  you?  says  the  voice.  You  read  the  number  from 
your  sheet  of  paper. 

-You'll  have  to  wait.  We  don't  schedule  procedures  this  early. 

-Okay,  you  say. 

-It's  for  your  safety.  We're  very  busy.  We  perform  many  other  health 
services.  This  is  just  a  small  part  of  what  we  do  for  the  community. 

-Okay. 

-I  might  be  able  to  find  some  time  for  you  in  a  few  weeks.  Thurs- 
day. The  3 1  St.  I  can  fit  you  in  at  four. 

-Okay. 

-Do  you  have  any  questions? 

-No,  you  say. 

This  is  not  true. 

She  had  told  you  once  what  it  felt  like  to  walk  through  the  picket 


CO 

o 

CO 

75 

I 

CO 


lines  V  ith  a  paper  bag  over  her  face  so  no  one  could  take  her  picture. 
A!!  she  could  think  about,  she  said,  all  she  could  think  about  as  she  lay 
ilat  on  her  back  vs  ith  her  body  emptying,  was  what  would  happen  to 
her  if  someone  threw  a  bomb,  if  the  doctor  would  leave  her  on  the 
table.  If  she  would  die  like  that,  half-naked  with  her  legs  spread,  bleed- 
ing. 

This  is  how  it  started:  you  were  counting  days.  You  wandered  around 
the  grocery  store  for  20  minutes  because  you  didn't  want  to  ask  the  1 5- 
year-old  boy  stocking  shelves  where  the  pregnancy  tests  were.  You  had 
thought  maybe  next  to  the  diapers.  You  found  them  finally  on  the  femi- 
nine hygiene  shelf  between  the  condoms  and  the  tampons.  You  picked 
the  cheapest  one  and  then  wondered  if  maybe  that  was  a  bad  idea.  The 
bleached  and  lipsticked  woman  who  rang  you  up  did  not  tell  you  to  have 
a  nice  day.  You  took  the  box  home  and  peed  on  the  spongy  end  of  the 
stick  and  now  here  you  are. 

-Tm  going  to  buy  you  ajar  of  pickles,  she  says. 

You  are  crying  again  because  your  breasts  hurt. 

-I  know  you  have  an  excuse,  she  says,  -but  you  are  turning  into  the 
moodiest  bitch  1  have  ever  seen  in  my  life. 

-I'm  sorry,  you  wail,  crying  harder 

-Oh  Christ,  she  says,  -I  was  joking.  Come  here. 

She  grabs  at  you  and  you  cry  some  more  until  you  realize  your 
nose  is  nmning  on  her  sweater. 

-My  nose  is  running  on  your  sweater. 

-It's  an  old  sweater. 


-Will  you  go  with  me? 
-Shut  up. 

You  are  carrying  a  secret  now.  low  in  your  belly.  It  has  gi\en  you 
an  awareness  of  the  covert  lives  of  other  people.  You  eye  women  on 
the  street,  wondering  what  undercover  truth  they  are  bearing.  The  se- 
crets of  some  women  you  can  read  easily:  black  eyes,  too-thin  bodies. 
But  when  you  look  in  the  mirror  you  see  only  a  healthy,  appealing  sort 
of  girl,  who  might  be  up  for  a  bike  ride  or  a  game  of  Frisbee,  and  so  it 
is  faces  like  yours  that  you  watch  most  closely.  You  think  of  criminals, 
their  acts  of  desperation  or  hatred  paraded  across  the  television  with 
their  names  and  faces,  permanently  reducing  them  to  the  single  most 
awful  thing  they  have  done  in  their  lives.  You  are  the  worst  kind  of 
mother.  On  the  evening  news,  you  would  be  crucified.  Your  neighbors 
have  acquired  a  new  bumper  sticker  proclaiming  In  Case  Of  Rapture 
This  Car  Will  Be  Unmanned.  You  wish  you  had  the  option. 

-1  was  fine  afterw ard.  she  says.  -Maybe  it  will  be  different  for  you, 
but  I  have  never  looked  back.  Never. 

-Make  them  gi\e  you  morphine,  she  says.  She  has  dri\en  you  to 
the  clinic  and  now  she  is  holding  your  hand  while  you  try  not  to  cr\\  If 
you  cry  everyone  sitting  next  to  you  will  know  w hat  \ ou  are  doing  here 
and  they  will  hate  you. 

-I'm  right  here,  she  says.  -Breathe,  she  says. 

You  wonder  if  you  will  be  sick.  'Sou  are  lucky.  You  do  not  li\e  in 
Alabama,  for  one  thing.  \'ou  clutch  her  fingers  and  wait  for  the  doctor  to 
call  your  name,  if 


Forever 


the  space  between 

awake  and  asleep;  the 

fine  line  between 

dreams  and  reality. 


Jennifer  Saboteur 


There  are  graphic  sexual  images  that  used  to  reside,  quite  comfortably,  buried  deep 
within  the  recesses  of  my  memory.  Depending  on  how  pleasant,  memorable,  or  recently 
my  encounters  occurred,  some  w  ere  buried  deeper  than  others.  W  hen  they  emerge,  they  are 
fiashes  of  scenes  long  past,  all  blurred  b\  the  passing  of  time.  Until  recenth.  they  rarely 
came  forward  unless  prompted  by  a  reminder  It  was  generally  a  good-natured  question 
over  drinks  with  a  friend. 

//(«(  iiHiny  men  have  you  slept  with'? 

And  conversation  was  pleasant.  M\  memories  for  the  most  part  w  ere  foggy  and  dimly 
lit.  They  were,  at  the  very  least,  colorful  stories  to  li\en  up  a  meal  illustrating  a  time  of 
abandonment  and  conspicuous  sexual  consumption.  They  were  also  encounters  I  happily 
left  as  stories  infrequently  told.  I  felt — and  continue  to  feel  more  profoundK  w  ith  each 
passing  day  as  though  sex  that  I  had  in  the  past  with  people  1  ha\e  not  seen  or  spoken  to 
in  a  long  time  had.  and  continue  to  have,  no  place  in  my  happil\  monogamous  life  now. 

My  sexual  past  has  come  forward  and  made  its  presence  know  n  out  of  the  recesses  of 
my  mind,  into  the  insides  of  my  body.  My  rendez\ous  have,  quite  literally,  infected  me  and 
are  demanding  some  allention  and  recognition.  ThcN  repla>  themseUes  oxerand  o\er  dur- 
ing my  nov\  frequeiii  gynecological  \isits.  Tlie\  repla\  oxer  weekK  telephone  conxcrsa- 
tions  with  the  fully  insensitixe  people  who  work  on  behalf  of  the  complaint  department  of 
my  HMO. 

This  is  not  the  first  tune  I  liaxe  had  to  find  a  wax  lo  manage  the  occasionally  ugly 
consequences  of  haxing  sex.  especiallx  with  people  I  xxas  not  in  a  monogamous  relation- 
ship with.  Anyone  x\ho  has  sex  knoxxs  that  it  can  be  emotionally  complicated  and  reallx 
dangerous  for  far  too  many  reasons.  This  is.  hoxxexei.  one  of  the  only  times  in  my  life  that 
the  dilTicult  consequences  of  .sex  were  physical  rather  than  emotional.  One  of  the  funda- 
mental dilTcrences  in  hoxv  I  handle  emotional  and  physical  difilcultx  is  that  xxhcn  I  mn  inio 
emotional  trauma,  more  often  than  not.  I  can  xxork  it  out  on  my  oxvn  or  x\  ith  the  council  of 
a  person  who  1  trust  and  respect.  This  element  of  choice  can  make  all  the  difTerence  in 
getting  through  a  tough  situation. 

Importantly  xvhen  dealing  with  issues  or  silualions  that  are  dilTicull  emotionally  but 
which  lack  a  phxsical  aftermath,  you  are  also  permuted  a  certain  amount  of  prixacy  and  a 
lot  of  choices  about  how  you  can  handle  the  situation.  When  something  happens  to  you 
physically  as  a  consequence  of  consensual  sex.  as  in  contracting  an  STD  or  getting  preg- 
nant, immedialelx  people  xsho  you  probably  haxe  nexer  met  in  your  life,  and  xxho  \ou 
instinctuallx  max  not  trust,  are  brought  into  a  xer>  personal  equation  xcr>  quicklx.  To 
complicale  an  already  complicated  situation  they  are  generallx  people  xvho  could  gixe  a 
rat's  a.ss  about  how  you  feel  about  what  is  happening  to  you.  and  they  charge  an  exorbitant 
anuninl  of  monex  for  their  serxices.  In  mx  experience,  thex  also  tend  to  be  people  who 


don't  think  vei7  hard  about  how  insensitively  they  might  be  treating  you, 
don't  tend  to  fill  you  in  on  options  which  you  have  (because  they  are 
comfortable  with  making  choices  for  you),  and  who,  as  doctors  and  health 
care  providers,  often  seem  to  think  that  the  only  error  they  should  be  held 
accountable  for  is  accidentally  killing  you.  I  have  never  met  a  doctor  I 
liked.  I  have,  however,  met  a  few  who  I  thought  were  good  doctors. 

After  a  routine  gynecological  visit  several  months  ago  where  1  got 
an  abnonnal  Pap  smear.  I  have  had  to  "follow  up"  because  my  first 
gynecologist's  assistant  told  me  that  I  probably  either  had  cervical  can- 
cer, or  interior  indications  of  "rough  sex"  (yes.  these  are  two  very  differ- 
ent things  and  1  don't  know  what  she  was  thinking  telling  me  this  either). 
I  have  been  consistently  horrified  with  the  treatment  that  I  have  received 
from  nearly  all  of  the  four  gynecologists  1  have  seen,  and  appalled  at  my 
health  insurance  carrier  for  too  many  reasons  to  go  into  here,  but  most 
notably  for  the  people  they  have  not  properly  trained  to  put  me  on  hold 
without  accidentally  hanging  up  on  me,  much  less  appropriately  deal  vv  ith 
very  personal  complaints  about  shoddy  New  York  City  gynecologists. 
My  boyfriend  heard  somewhere  that  big  HMO's  actually  hire  prison  in- 
mates to  work  in  the  complaint  department  of  their  companies  for  obvi- 
ous business  reasons:  the  more  inept  they  think  the  people  working  for 
them  in  the  complaint  department  are.  the  more  people  will  become  frus- 
trated with  calling  to  complain  and  the  less  complaints  they  will  get.  Bril- 
liant, right?  While  I  laughed  upon  first  hearing  this.  I  think  that  while 
they  may  not  all  be  in  solitary  confineinent.  they  are  certainly  not  prop- 
erly trained  at  all.  From  the  way  that  they  speak  to  me  1  can't  imagine  that 
there  are  other  co-workerinanagcr  types  around  to  ensure  that  they  treat 
patients  and  customers  in  a  sensitive  manner.  I'll  give  you  a  brief  ex- 
ample of  my  indoctrination  into  the  ways  of  HMO  complaint  dcpartinents. 
Keep  in  inind  that  I  had  already  been  hung  up  on  several  times  when  1 
finally  got  through.  It  would  be  valuable  if  you  knew  some  of  the  history 
leading  up  to  this  phone  call,  but  there  is  so  much  that  I  wouldn't  know 
where  to  begin.  Anyway,  I  need  to  save  some  of  my  horrifying  anecdotes 
for  later. 

A  very  deep  irritated  sounding  man's  voice:  Hello? 

My  voice,  rather  high  pitched  and  young  sounding:  ///,  /  've  been  on 
hold  for  a  while.  Arc  you  the  person  who  lakes  complaints? 

Yeah. 

Silence. 

OK.  well  I  have  a  complaint  I  would  like  to  file 
against  my  doctor  and  a  woman  who  works  in  his 
office. 

OK 

OK.  well  how  do  1  do  this? 

You  can  do  it  with  me. 

OK,  Uh.  I'm  not  sure  where  to  begin.  Well  I'm 
complaining  about  a  gynecologist  I  saw.  who  I  never 
actually  saw.  I  want  to  make  sure  that  I  was  not 
charged  for  a  visit  with  him  because  he  never  actu- 
ally examined  me,  his  assistant  did.  and  when  she 
did,  she  seemed  very  nice  but  she  dropped  the  tools 
she  was  using  a  few  times  during  the  examination 
and  continued  to  use  them.  I  think.  She  didn  't  seem 
very  experienced  and  I  always  thought  the  doctor 
was  supposed  to  do  the  examination,  anyway.  Then 
they  called  me  back  a  few  days  later  and  told  me 
that  I  had  to  come  back  into  the  office  because  I  ei- 
ther had  cervical  cancer  or  was  showing  signs  of  it 
in  my  Pap  smear  When  I  asked  if  I  could  make  an 
appointment  to  come  back  in  they  said  no.  I  asked 
why  not.  luul  the  woman  said  that  she  did  not  make 
appointments  in  the  evening  and  that  I  would  have 
to  call  back  another  time.  So  I  asked  her  when,  and 
she  said  whenever  that  I  should  Just  call  back  an- 
other lime.  .And  I  asked  why  I  couldn  if  make  an  ap- 
pointment and  she  said  that  I  Just  couldn  't.  So  leaded 
j.  /)<:/(  A  the  next  day  from  work  and  I  got  another  re- 
ceplionisi  and  I  tried  to  make  an  appoinlmcnl  with 


her  and  she  told  me  that  there  were  no  appointments  available,  which 
really  freaked  me  out  because  they  had  told  me  that  I  might  have  cervical 
cancer  and  I  figured  they  should,  you  know.  tiT  and  treat  it.  Hello?  Hello  ? 

Yeah,  I'm  here.  Miss  would  you  say  that  you  received  below  aver- 
age service  from  your  doctor?  Is  that  what  you  are  trying  to  say? 

Uh,  yes.  I  would  definitely  say  that  I  received  below  average  ser- 
vice. I'm  not  actually  done  with  my  complaint,  it  all  gets  worse. 

So,  what  you  are  saying  miss  is  that  you  received  poor  service  from 
your  doctor? 

/  'm  saying  that  I  don  't  think  anyone  should  use  this  doctor  ever,  and 
that  you  should  perhaps  consider  removing  him  from  your  plan.  If  I  tell 
you  everything  that  happened  I  'm  sure  it  will  be  clear  why  when  I  am 
finished  with  my  complaint. 

OK,  well  the  thing  is  everything  you  tell  me  I'm  going  to  have  to 
type  and  Fin  not  the  fastest  typer  in  the  world,  and  1  don't  have  all  day 
miss... 

Well,  what  have  you  typed  so  far? 

I  typed  'Customer  not  happy  with  service.' 

Flash  images  of  my  sexual  past  have  become  more  vivid  in  some 
ways  than  what  1  did  yesterday,  or  even  last  week.  They  are  no  longer 
dim  memories,  but  humiliating  secrets  which  have  made  it  impossible 
for  me  to  have  sex  with  my  boyfriend  tonight,  not  only  because  I  couldn't 
imagine  anything  I'd  rather  do  less,  but  because  the  cramping  and  bleed- 
mg  from  the  cervical  biopsy  1  had  yesterday  make  it  impossible.  Fear 
and  regret  has.  almost  overnight,  overcome  me  completely  and  saturated 
every  decision  I  make  in  or  out  of  the  bedroom.  This  includes  the  new- 
found danger  I  see  in  getting  out  of  bed  in  the  morning,  as  well  as  decid- 
mg  whether  or  not  it  would  be  safe  to  leave  my  apartment  at  night. 

My  sexual  history  since  last  September  has  been  waging  an  all  out 
war  against  my  body.  Pictures  of  encounters  that  came  to  fruition  during 
acts  of  free  will  feel  they  must  go  on  to  resolve  themselves  on  a  nightly 
basis,  when  I  am  sleeping  and  literally  can't  exercise  free  will  to  make 
them  stop.  They  morph  from  erotic  memories  in  dream  form  to  the  sen- 
sation of  someone  clipping  off  pieces  of  my  cervix  and  prodding  me 
with  cold  metal  instruments.  Sleep  pounds  me  and  offers  perpetual  re- 
minders. It  demands  regret,  guilt,  and  punishment  most  ruthlessly  when 


...Hello^HeM 

Yeah,  I'm  here.  Miss  would  you  say 
that  you  received  below  average  service 
from  your  doctor?  Is  that  what  you  are 
trying  to  say? 

Uh,  yes.  ..I'm  not  actually  done  with 
my  complaint,  it  all  gets  worse. 

So,  what  you  are  saying,  miss,  is 
that  you  received  poor  service  from  your 
doctor? 

/  'm  saying  that  I  don 't  think  anyone 
should  use  this  doctor  ever,  and  that  you 
should  perhaps  consider  removing  him 
from  your  plan.  If  I  tell  you  everything 
that  happened  I'm  sure  it  will  be  clear 
why  when  I  am  finished  with  my  com- 
plaint. 

OK,  well  the  thing  is  everything  you 
tell  me  I'm  going  to  have  to  type  and  I'm 
not  the  fastest  typer  in  the  world,  and  I 
don't  have  all  day  miss... 

Well,  what  have  you  typed  so  far? 

I  typed  "Customer  not  happy  with 
service." 


1  air  '  .ijjer  to  escape  all  of  that. 

Sometimes  m>  dreams  are  so  vivid  1  can't  remember  if  they  actu- 
ally happened.  Because  I  often  dream  of  things  that  actually  happen 
ihroughout  the  day.  all  of  this  can  make  be  very  disorienting.  Anyway,  1 
don't  want  them  as  reality,  they  are  uncomfortable  enough  as  dreams, 
and  so  it  is  my  instinct  to  pretend  that  none  of  it  is  real.  I  would  rather 
dream  my  childhood  dream  of  floating  up  weightless  in  a  white  night 
gown,  and  swimming  with  ease  through  the  heavy  air  of  my  bedroom.  If 
I  don't  specify  which  happened  in  sleep,  and  which  happened  when 
awake,  I  could  perhaps  convey  to  you  what  it  is  to  live  with  a  perpetu- 
ally diminishing  sense  of  reality. 

I  am  in  a  hospital  and  the  doctor  is  putting  the  mask  over  my  face, 
which  will  put  me  to  sleep.  He  tells  me  to  breathe  in.  He  is  asking  me 
how  school  is  going.  I  am  younger,  eighteen  or  nineteen.  I  don't  have 
clothes  on,  just  a  piece  of  paper  in  the  shape  of  a  gown  covering  me.  My 
legs  are  spread.  Everyone  is  looking  between  my  legs  and  they  are  wear- 
ing masks  over  their  mouths.  1  tell  the  doctor  that  I  know  what  he  is 
trying  to  do.  He  is  trying  to  distract  me  by  asking  me  inane  questions.  I 
tell  him  he  doesn't  have  to  do  that.  I'm  not  going  to  fall  asleep.  He 
laughs  and  although  the  mask  covers  his  mouth,  I  can  see  his  laughter  in 
the  crinkles  of  his  eyes  and  in  the  tilting  up  of  his  chin. 

When  1  wake  up  my  insides  don't  hurt  but  my  inner  thighs  hurt 
more  than  anything  I  have  ever  known  from  being  spread  for  so  long.  It 
is  a  terrible  pain  and  all  I  want  to  do  is  close  them,  forever.  I  heard  that 
sometimes  when  women  wake  up  they  are  crying  but  I'm  not  crying 
because  I'm  tough,  and  I  got  myself  into  this  and  I  look  at  the  doctor  and 
ask, 

"Are  you  finished?" 

"Yes."  He  says. 

"That  was  so  fast." 

"It  wasn't  actually  that  fast.  You  were  asleep." 

"Thank  you,"  I  say,  and  close  my  eyes,  thinking  about  how  strange 
sleep  can  be,  how  strange  it  is  that  you  don't  feel  pain  when  you  are 
sleeping,  how  it  is  like  a  form  of  death.  They  wheel  mc  to  a  room  where 
I  lay  in  a  bed  next  to  other  women.  I  am  the  youngest.  Curtains  are 
supposed  to  separate  our  beds  but  they  are  only  sort  of  half  closed  so 
that  I  can't  see  their  bodies,  but  1  can  sec  their  heads.  When  the  nurse 
comes  to  check  on  me  I  tell  her  that  1  think  I  am  ready  to  go  home,  but 
she  snaps: 

Just  relax. 

And  then  she  walks  away  with  her  shoes  squeaking  on  the  lino- 
leum. I  want  to  go  home.  I  shut  my  eyes  but  I  can't  sleep.  1  open  my  eyes 
and  see  that  the  woman  in  the  bed  next  to  me  is  looking  at  mc  and  smil- 
ing groggily.  She  has  red  frizzy  hair  and  looks  at  me  like  she  wants  to 
protect  mc  from  something,  like  I  am  young  and  small.  I  realize  that  she 
has  had  it  done  also.  That  all  of  the  women  in  the  row  have  had  it  done, 
and  that  instead  of  being  worried  about  ourselves  we  are  all  worried 
about  the  other  women  next  to  us  in  the  row.  Later  when  I  dream  it  over 
again  I  remember  most  vividly  the  way  that  red  headed  woman  looked 
at  me,  and  how  even  though  the  thought  of  anyone  having  children  scares 
me,  I  think  she  would  have  been  a  good  mother. 

When  I  am  told  that  I  am  finally  allowed  to  leave,  the  hospital 
pages  my  boyfriend  o\er  an  intercom  to  come  and  get  me,  but  he  has 
fallen  asleep  so  he  cannot  hear  them  and  he  never  comes.  Finally,  one  of 
the  nurses  has  to  leave  her  post  to  go  to  the  waiting  room  to  find  him.  or 
else  I  will  have  to  slay  there  until  someone  else  comes  to  get  mc.  She 
decides  for  some  reason  that  this  is  all  my  fault.  She  asks  me  what  he 
looks  like — skeptically,  as  though  she  thinks  that  he  does  not,  in  fact, 
exist. 

They  find  him  sprawled  across  two  chairs,  snoring,  a  political  patch 
sewed  carefully  onto  the  back  of  his  gas  station  jacket,  chain  dangling, 
skate  sneakers.  Looking  at  him.  you  would  not  think  him  capable  of 
getting  a  woman  pregnant.  When  we  get  outside  I  am  supposed  to  get 
straight  into  a  cab  but  none  will  slop  for  him  so  I  have  to  go  out  into  the 
street  and  llail  nu  arms  in  the  air  to  hail  it  m\self  Once  we  get  back  to 
my  place.  I  gel  into  bed  because  I  am  bleeding  pretty  hea\y.  He  tells  mc 


that  he  has  to  leave  because  his  band  has  a  show  somewhere  on  a  college 
radio  station  in  New  Jersey.  But,  he  says,  he  will  come  straight  home 
afterwards  and  maybe  he  will  bring  me  a  treat. 

When  I  wake  up  the  bills  begin  arriving.  It  doesn't  seem  right  that  it 
could  cost  so  much  to  have  something  done  that  hurls  so  eternally.  A 
friend  told  me  medical  bills  do  not  affect  your  credit.  That  sounded  right 
to  me.  He  was  wrong.  I  pretend  the  bills  don't  matter  and  let  them  pile  up 
unopened.  I  laugh  like  it  is  funny,  even  after  I  call  my  health  insurance 
company  and  an  annoyed  sounding  man  on  the  other  end  of  the  line  tells 
me  they  won't  help  with  a  cent  because  they  don't  cover  "that  sort  of 
thing.' 

Look,  they  keep  sending  the  hills! 

My  boyfriend  laughs  also. 

They  think  that  if  they  send  multiple  copies,  we  will  pay  them! 

I  am  startled  awake  by  a  wave  of  anxiety  pulling  at  my  breath  leav- 
ing me  choking.  Instead  of  floating  up  in  my  sleep,  like  w  hen  I  was  a  kid, 
I  stand  back  and  watch  myself  being  pushed  dow  nv\  ard  by  m\  ow  n  w  eight. 

1  begin  the  tedious  process  of  eliminating  people  and  things  from 
my  list  of  waking  hassles.  I  pay  some  bills.  It  takes  years  of  hanging  up 
and  walking  away  to  eliminate  the  boyfriend,  and  a  little  less  time  to  get 
the  bills  paid  otT.  Days,  months,  years  later  he  does  not  mention  the  hos- 
pital bills  or  harassment  when  I  am  converted  into  a  demonic  muse  for 
screamed  anguished  unabashedly  self-righteous  hardcore  music  records. 
It  becomes  my  least  fa\  orite  genre.  This  music  is  in  the  background  w  hen 
I  am  deep  in  sleep  and  he  suddenly  morphs  into  a  midget  rubbing  his 
hands  all  over  me,  and  he  is  to  small  to  pick  up  and  remo\e.  The  music 
becomes  louder  and  he  is  the  size  of  a  child's  penis  trying  to  creep  inside 
of  me  while  I  flail  my  arms  and  hands  around  trying  to  stop  it.  like  I  am 
one  of  those  stringed  puppets  dancing. 

Minutes  later  I  am  sound  asleep,  in  another  countrv.  The  sleep  is 
more  peaceful,  certainly  more  childlike.  Men  do  not  speak  English  very 
well  but  they  think  I  am  beautiful.  I  think  they  are  beautiful  also,  espe- 
cially when  we  can  barely  speak  the  same  language.  I  w  ill  ne\er  ha\e  to 
see  them  again.  They  don't  know  mc.  1  don't  know  them.  They  w  ill  not 
mutter  my  name  to  other  men  who  know  me  through  New  York's  anxious 
social  circles  within  the  context  of  stay  away  she  is  marked  territory  I 
have  already  lifted  my  leg  and  pissed  on  that  one,  don  t  hetray  me... 

If  they  can't  speak  English  the\  can't  ask  me  what  it's  like  to  be  a 
woman  playing  music  or  a  v\oman  playing  music  w  ith  men  or  a  woman 
w  riling  or  a  w  oman  who  knows  how  to  read  and  write.  They  don't  ask  me 
what  I  think  of  their  songs,  as  a  woman.  They  don't  tell  me, 

■W)  one  would  know  who  you  were  if  it  weren  t  for  me.  you  wouldn  t 
he  anywhere. 

Because.  I'm  not  a  woman  here.  I'm  not  even  me.  at  least  as  you  have 
always  known  mc.  You  don't  need  a  sexual  identity  w hen  you  are  ha\  ing 
anonymous  sex  with  someone  \ou  will  neser  sec  again.  I  am  part  of  an 
act  in  a  moment,  which  end's  when  I  climax,  and  we  fall  asleep  outside 
on  the  soft  soil  of  the  graveyard.  Only  the  moment  doesn't  end  here,  or 
now.  I  am  nowhere.  None  of  this  is  real  except  the  blackness  behind  my 
eyelids  and  the  smell  of  sweat  and  dirty  laundry,  beer  and  cigarettes.  It  is 
a  waking  dream,  the  best  kind.  The  sound  of  breathing  and  sometimes 
childlike  laughter,  enveloping  you  like  a  cocoon.  We  don't  bother  with 
words  anymore  because  the  more  Czech  beer  \ou  drink  the  more  \ou 
forget  what  language  you  are  try  ing  to  speak. 

That  was  the  good  part  of  the  dream.  The  one  that  is  a  little  bit  like 
tloaiing  away,  in  a  w  hite  night  gow  n  while  your  eyes  are  closed,  but  older 
and  hea\ier  as  you  start  to  wake  up.  AH  dreams  feel  a  need  to  con\ert  to 
waking,  and  waking  is  never  smooth  or  easy,  at  least  for  me,  and  you  start 
to  fall  a  little  while  you  float,  back  toward  the  bed.  or  the  ground,  or 
tlnalK  the  table  in  the  gynecologists  olTice  with  \our  legs  spread,  know- 
ing that  as  she  he  asks  you  questions  about  your  sexual  history  they,  along 
with  anyone  you  tr\-  and  talk  to  about  this  whole  mess  is  thinking,  some- 
where. /  told  you  so. 

Or  maybe,  at  best. 

You  should  have  known  heller,   ^f 


GENDE 


PHY 


Commentary  By  Jennifer  R.  Johnson 

RecentK  there  has  been  a  surge  in  self-proclaimed  "experts'  flood- 
ing the  media  with  a  new  brand  of  insanity  in  the  discussion  of  women 
and  men  in  relationships  and  society.  This  has  taken  many  forms,  all  of 
which  are  reminiscent  of  earlier  times  in  histor>'.  When  this  phenom- 
enon occurs  in  popular  culture,  we  call  it  "retro."  However,  when  this 
anachronistic  reversion  comes  into  play  in  the  roles  and  images  of  gen- 
der in  our  culture,  it  is  a  reversal  of  what  we  call  progress — and  a  phe- 
nomenon that  1  call  "genderetrophy." 

Examples  of  genderetrophy  have  been  seen  in  everything  from  the 
blatant  womcn-as-objects  themes  of  The  Man  Show,  complete  with 
"juggles"  bouncing  the  aisles  in  string  bikinis  and  "girls  on  trampolines" 
clad  in  skirts,  to  the  gay-bashing  and  sadomasochism  of  Dr.  Laura 
Schlessinger  (homosexuals  are  a  "biological  error";  pre-marital  cohabi- 
tation'.' You're  a  whore)  to  the  promotion  of  the  coy  woman,  using  her 
feminine  wiles  to  "land"  a  man.  as  instructed  in  The  Rules  (and  don't 
forget  The  Rules  IT)  to  the  recent  declaration  by  Arthur  Gordon  in  How- 
to  Get  All  the  Girls  You  Want\\\dX  it  is  women's  independence  from  rnen 
that  is  corrupting  society.  We've  run  the  gamut.  Welcome  to  America, 
circa  1950 — except  this  is  the  year  2000.  Here's  news  for  those  who 
believe  that  "old-fashioned"  is  the  answer  (and  common  sense  for  ev- 
eryone else) — history  doesn't  provide  precise  answers,  it  provides  edu- 
cation. Rather  than  revering  and  repeating  history,  we  should  learn  from 
our  past  mistakes.  If  we  do  not.  then  our  progress  has  been  futile. 

in  several  of  the  aforementioned  fomms.  and  in  politics,  we  see 
platfonns  built  around  "family  values."  The  "family"  referred  to  therein 
consists  of  "married  with  children,"  and  ignores  all  other  groups.  Has 
anyone  stopped  to  look  around  in  the  last  50  years?  Today  just  20  per- 
cent of  American  families  (yes,  that's  one  in  five)  fit  this  model,  and  the 
divorce  rate  has  tripled  in  the  last  fifty  years.  In  fact,  one  half  of  all 
marriages  now  end  in  divorce.  More  and  more  people  are  opting  to 
cohabitate  or  remain  single  today  and  alternative  lifestyles  and  families 
have  gained  acceptance,  allow ing  many  more  people  an  opportunity  to 
be  true  to  themselves  and  still  have  a  family.  Yet  the  decline  of  the 
family  is  still  the  scapegoat  of  society's  ills  (do  politicians  realize  that 
they  arc  alienating  more  than  half  of  their  voting  public?).  Is  denial 
really  the  answer  here?  If  we  actually  believed  that  these  portrayals  of 
the  family  were  accurate,  we  must  also  conclude  that  single  parents, 
homosexual  couples,  foster  parents  and  other  non-mainstream  families 
are  not  capable  of  being  good  role  models  to  their  children. 

Arthur  Gordon,  author  of  How  to  Get  All  the  Girls  You  Want,  dares 
to  suggest  that  this  moral-familial  decline  would  be  halted  if  women 
were  dependent  on  their  husbands  (here  he  argues  that  women  were 
created  for  men  in  a  pseudo-Biblical  quotation  designed  to  attract  the 
church-going  crowd).  According  to  him  this  would  eliminate  divorce. 
And  common  sense,  in  my  estimation.  The  resultant  "family"  is  one  of 
loveless,  unhappy,  forced.  illusionar\  togetherness.  Further,  children  of 
such  families  are  taught  that  being  unhappily  married  is  better  than  be- 
ing happily  independent  (or  re-married  or  <insert  any  other  non-married 
status  here>).  Of  course,  no  mention  is  made  of  those  who  have  no 
desire  to  marry  or  of  those  who  desire  to  marry  someone  of  his  or  her 
own  gender.  Is  someone  really  arguing  this  as  a  valid  solution?  Some- 
one is.  That  same  someone  has  suggested  that  women  are  the  "missing 
link"  between  ape  and  man.  and  are  therefore  less  "evolved."  With  plain 
logic  we  can  dismiss  Gordon's  argument  as  invalid.  How  can  women 
be  created  before  men  and  be  taken  from  Adam's  rib?  Gordon's  book 
reads  like  a  Brian  Vickers  essay,  all  logical  arguments  with  illogical  and 
out  of  context  bases.  Sadly,  Gordon  isn't  the  only  one  promoting  the 
dependent  model.  The  writers  of  The  Rules  would  no  doubt  like  this 
idea — once  a  woman  has  "landed"  Mr.  Right,  she  gets  to  keep  him. 

Well,  I'm  all  for  bringing  back  the  oppression  of  women.  While 
we're  at  it.  let's  ban  education  for  selected  minority  groups  and  pt)pular- 


ize  racism.  In  fact,  let's  promote  slavery,  legalize  rape,  and  launch  a 
second  Holocaust.  I'm  not  trying  to  over-dramatize  here — oppression 
is  oppression — regardless  of  who  is  subverted.  Sexists  are  no  less 
offensive  than  racists  (However,  they  do  currently  enjoy  a  higher  main- 
stream acceptance  rate). 

Dr.  Laura  Schlessinger  could  stand  to  learn  this  fact.  With  Bible 
in  hand,  this  reformed  (from  her  sinful  ways,  which  makes  her  an  "ex- 
pert") "Christian"  quotes  scripture  to  defend  her  bigotries  (as  she  her- 
self has  done  much  of  what  she  disparages),  while  encouraging  callers 
to  embellish  details  of  their  lives  that  border  on  pornography.  It  quickly 
becomes  clear  that  she's  simply  living  vicariously  through  the  lives  of 
her  callers  (and  can  reprimand  herself  as  she  punishes  them).  Appar- 
ently, this  public  confession  forum  is  popular,  as  she  debuted  a  TV 
talk  show  this  fall  in  addition  to  her  radio  show  (.syndicated  by  Para- 
mount). I'm  just  not  sure  who  her  listening  public  is  (she's  eliminated 
all  homosexuals  and  all  conscientious  individuals,  and  the  Christian 
right  can  hardly  support  her  tactics). 

Again,  why  are  ancient  cultural  standards  cited  as  the  answer  to 
society's  "ills"  of  today?  isn't  it  obvious  that  society  evolved  because 
the  nomis  of  the  past  were  no  longer  working?  Why  would  anyone 
suggest  that  they  would  work  now? 

I  look  upon  this  phenomenon  much  as  Gloria  Steinem  did  upon 
her  Second  Edition  of  Outrageous  Acts  and  Everyday  Rebellions.  I'm 
happy  to  see  that  people  still  want  to  promote  a  sense  of  ethics  and 
family,  but  the  activist  in  me  doesn't  feel  at  all  happy  that  people  are 
still  using  cultural  anachronisms  to  defend  such  arguments  or  that  such 
topics  are  still  relevant  for  discussion.  "I  don't  know  whether  to  cel- 
ebrate or  mourn." 

if  indeed  a  historical  role  model  is  sought,  one  should  look  to 
ideas  which  worked,  not  those  which  didn't.  For  example.  Queen 
Elizabeth  remained  unmarried,  some  say  to  maintain  her  power  and 
her  hold  on  the  throne.  One  can  learn  from  this  historical  example 
w  ithout  emulating  her  and  without  remaining  single. 

When  will  these  insane  tactics  cease?  When,  and  only  w  hen.  the 
public  stops  buying  into  (and  literally,  stops  buying)  "new"  (read  as; 
recycled)  ideas  made  popular  by  their  shock  value.  Consumer  pur- 
chasing only  reinforces  and  rewards  production  of  these  media,  creat- 
ing a  Jeriy  Springer  effect.  Is  this  the  form  which  we  want  our  "au- 
thorities" on  relationships  to  take?  And  is  this  the  forum  that  we  want 
to  learn  from?  We  need  to  stop  gawking,  change  the  channel,  and 
refuse  to  buy  (or  buy  into)  such  propaganda.  Only  when  we  recognize 
and  denounce  this  genderetrophy.  will  we  find  true  progress,    if 


Dr.  Laura  Schlessinger 


Dr.  Laura's  TV  talk  show  debuted  during  the  middle  of  September, 
and  was  pulled  off  the  air  after  just  two  weeks  for  a  makeover.  The  low 
ratings  the  show  received  convinced  the  show's  producer,  Paramount,  to 
allow  Dr.  Laura  to  ditch  her  nice  and  polite  TV  show  attitude  for  the  aggres- 
sive, condesending  attitude  she  has  on  her  radio  show.  She's  experienced 
other  setbacks  recently,  when  a  NYC  radio  station,  WABC-AM,  cut  her  syn- 
dicated show  from  three  hours  to  two  (NY  Post,  10/23/00).  A  parody  of  Dr. 
Laura  received  a  high-profile  trouncing  on  the  NBC  show  West  Wingimm 
president  Martin  Sheen.  Sagging  ratings  and  continued  controversy  have 
meant  lost  sponsorship,  including  Proctor  &  Gamble  (E!  Online  News  10/ 
23/00),  and  the  show  has  been  dropped  by  some  networks  (CBC.CA  10/5/ 
00).  For  more  information  on  the  controversy  surrounding  Dr.  Schlessinger, 
stopdrlaura.com  has  a  comprehensive  compilation  of  direct  quotes  from 
Dr.  Laura,  info  on  who  her  advertisers  are,  what  stations  air  her  show,  etc. 


The  silence  that  shapes  our  wor(l)ds.  The  silence  that  contours  the  sounds  of  music.  The  silence  that 
usually  interrupts  &  surrounds  our  most  incredible  experiences  (and  interferes  with  their  recurrence).  The 
silence  that  leaves  us  alone  with  our  pains — cutting  us  otT  from  each  other  and  our  common  struggles.  Si- 
lence creates  moments  where  we  realize  what  we  have  yet  to  communicate...  There  is  also  a  beautiful  kind  of 
silence  that  allows  us  to  relax,  to  dream  and  to  feel  pleasure.  This  silence,  which  provides  in\aluable  mo- 
ments where  one's  mind  can  experience  freedom,  is  often  disrupted  by  the  whirring  of  machines,  the  roar  of 
autos,  billboards,  the  buzz  of  computers  and  refrigerators,  logos,  sirens,  small  talk,  etc.  Many  times  silence 
delays  discovering  and  delighting  in  deep-rooted  desires.  Silence  inhibits  turning  these  desires  into  pleasures. 

Silence  involves  all...  all  sound...  all  possibilities...  all  we  desire  to  communicate... 

We  exist  in  a  very  loud  society — perhaps  the  most  carsplitting  e\er — it  is  so  loud  we  have  almost 
become  deaf  to  the  many  beautiful  sounds  which  are  crushed  by  the  cacophony  of  corporate  commerce... 
Away  from  this  dissonance  a  tool  dropped  on  the  floor  can  be  thunderous — a  single  automobile  or  plane  can 
drastically  interrupt  the  sounds  of  life...  consider  what  we  must  filter  out...  (as  the  computer  whirs)...  An 
intersection  closed  by  a  protest  or  critical  mass  can  restore  a  serenity  which  we  often  forget  possible...  let's 
unplug  for  a  moment... 


•  I  had  a  delightful  friendship  with  a  70  year  old  Ethiopian  woman  ("Naya").  She  spoke  no  English  and  1 
knew  maybe  fifty  words  of  the  Ethiopian  national  dialect  ("ahmaric").  Our  friendship  was  based  on  a  few 
basic  things:  We  both  shared  an  intense  love  for  her  children  and  three  grandchildren.  We  cooked  and 
ab,sorbed  many  incredible  meals...  We  shared  endless  hours  of  beautiful  silence  while  caring  for  her  newborn 
grand-daughter  (Dominique). 

We  communicated  through  smiles  (and  other  facial  expressions),  laughter,  eye  contact,  sharing  food, 
hugging  and  kissing  each  other's  cheeks  (each  time  ue  met  and  parted) — as  we  embraced  we  uttered  "dah 
nanich"  which  was  an  Ethiopian  phrase  expressing  alTection...  as  opposed  to  standard  speech  our  communi- 
cation sought  to  convey  feeling  through  sound  and  silence  rather  than  grammar...  1  never  once  felt  the  need  to 
teach  her  English  or  to  learn  Ahmaric     our  communications  were  efficient  and  pleasant... 

Before  Naya  left  for  Ethiopia  I  spent  the  night  on  the  couch  in  her  family's  li\ing  room.  Early  in  the 
morning  Naya  came  downstairs  to  leave-  we  hugged  and  kissed  each  other's  checks — we  made  eye  contact... 
we  both  knew  that  we  would  never  see  each  other  again.  In  a  very  significant  way  we  were  both  dying  in  our 
shared  reality...  We  cried  and  cried  then  hugged  again... 

I'm  certain  that  words  would  have  spoiled  that  moment.  If  we  had  a  shared  syntax  we  might  have 
hidden  our  emotions  behind  grammatical  structures  and  talked  about  tri\ial  things  like  infiight  mo\ies.  airline 
peanuts  or  postcards...  Instead  for  a  brief  instant  our  minds  were  transparent  and  our  communication  could 
not  have  been  contained  within  words... 

Felix  Mendelssohn:  "people  usually  complain  that  music  is  so  ambiguous,  that  it  leaves  them  in  such  doubt  as 
to  what  they  arc  supposed  to  think,  whereas  words  can  be  understood  by  everyone.  But  to  me  it  seems  exactly 
the  opposite." 

sound  (e)merges  with(in)  silence... 

•  Silence,  often  a  forgotten  aspect  of  music  and  speech,  shapes  and  nourishes  sound(s).  Silence  creates 
and  releases  tension...  Music  is  bom.  develops  and  realizes  it.self  with(in)  silence:  sounds  arise  and  dissohe 
as  they  give  a  form  lo  silence,  and  yet  they  do  not  abolish  it.  Silence  is  an  o.scillation  between  nothingness  and 
being. 

Silence  is  more  a  union  than  a  breaking  ofT. 

Silence  nourishes  and  protects  music  \>ith  gentle  and  fluid  boundaries  which  allow  both  uniqueness 
and  universality...  Silence  is  the  very  substance  of  music...  in  it  individual  sounds  are  integral  to  the  possi- 
bility of  all  sounds. 

Dancing  getting  further  and  further  into  the  groo\  c  until  we  hear  an  undivided  sound  (the  harmony  of 
all  life  is  intense  (yet  beautiful  and  peaceful)).  A  contagious  ecstasy  spreads  as  magnificent  chills  run  down 
the  spine  and  this  bliss  vims  circulates  throughout  the  entire  organism.  We  no  longer  think  about  dancing — 
it  just  happens...  the  music  is  heard  so  deeply  that  it  is  not  heard  at  all — we  realize  that  «hile  the  music 
lasts — WE  -ARE  THE  MUSIC.  Time  dilates  and  frees  itself  from  geometric  subdivision.  As  we  release  time 
from  its  mathematical  confines  we  experience  it  as  it  is:  infinite,  lluid  &  indi\isiblc.  There  is  no  past  or 
future  only  a  magnificent  timeless  present.  A  lifetime  is  experienced  in  e\er\  moment,  the  mind  ascends  as 
bodies  fiow  freely... 

The  rigid  egos  which  formerly  separated  us  from  hamiony  dissolve  momentarily...  Music  is  no  longer 
extemal  but  rather  an  extension  and  intemiingling  of  self  &  life...  this  beautiful  listening  e\ent  (which  wc 
have  all  certainly  enjoyed)  may  simply  be  the  experience  of  silence.  The  "pure  sound"  of  silence  is  created  b\ 
the  inner  singing  of  the  mind  with  which  we  welcome  and  recreate  sounds  and  melodies.  Silence  is  the 
beautiful  mindstate  which  makes  us  receptive  to  pleasure. 

experience  is  interpretation... 

Silence  is  the  subjects  e  aspect  of  listening     the  personal  signature  gi\en  to  the  realities  you  encounter... 

An  enlightening  mood  transfomis  all  sensations...  Enchantment  saturates  every  gesture  as  you  stride 
with  a  feeling  of  elation  and  ecstasy  which  nou  prc\  iously  onl\  knew  in  dreams.  Dancing     attracting  all  to 


move  and  share  this  marvelous  mirth...  you  listen  in  a  different  way  to 
an  imperishable  moment  of  music — your  surroundings  take  on  an  un- 
usual beauty  and  light(ness)...  The  sounds  of  life  mesh  into  the  sweetest 
hannony...  Totally  alive  -  completely  a  unique  individual — yet  in  total 
communion  with  all  (just  as  a  vortex  is  a  unique  but  integral  element  of 
a  river).  Days  pass  and  the  mind  swells  to 
the  point  of  bursting  from  an  inner  space 
overflowing  with  bliss — time  expands  (di- 
lates) and  your  days  are  enclosed  in  an  ever 
vaster  fullness. 

John  Cage:  The  music  I  prefer,  even 
to  my  own  and  everything,  is  what  we  hear 
if  we  are  just  quiet... 

•       Silence  is  the  language  within  Ian-       i         r        r  » 

guage-  a  mode  or  communication  where    '-^^■^"^         /  . 

translation  is  unnecessary...  a  primordial  (Jy^^  (ic\.e5   i\\^ 

communication  otTering  translucent  imme- 
diacy... Silence  is  at  times  the  most  uncomfortable  but  honest  aspect  of 
communication.  People  often  fill  the  air  w  ith  all  kinds  of  noise  to  avoid 
even  a  few  moments  of  silence.  Closeness  and  connectedness  come 
when  we  can  comfortably  enjoy  silence  communally.  Silence  feels  plea- 
surable and  peaceful  with  those  whom  we  love...  Words  fragment... 

As  the  Linguist  Benjamin  Whorf  notes:  Language  includes  not 
only  our  way  of  constructing  propositions  but  the  way  we  dissect  nature 
and  break  up  the  flux  of  life  into  objects  and  entities  about  which  to 
construct  propositions..."  Silence,  however,  evokes  an  ecstatic  sense  of 
immediacy,  an  experience  of  radical  beauty,  breaking  all  the  habits  of 
mediation  conventionally  associated  with  perception.  Silence  negates 
the  process  of  negation  that  abstraction  is...  Silence,  as  the  art  historian 
Poggioli  claims,  allows  freedom  from  "the  prison  of  things."  Silence 
amplifies  the  experience  of  extreme  liberty  and  intensity  of  feeling: 
absolute  freedom.  Our  words  lie  so  often  they  ha\c  almost  lost  their 
meaning — conversation  (for  the  most  part)  has  digressed  to  small  talk 
which  avoids  the  big  issue(s)  of  existence  and  interrupts  ineffable  in- 
sights. 

How  does  language  fragment?  A  very  important  feature  is  the  sub- 
ject -  verb  -  object  structure  of  sentences,  which  is  common  to  the  gram- 
mar and  syntax  of  modem  languages...  this  structure  implies  that  all 
action  arises  in  a  separate  entity  (the  subject)  and  that  ( in  cases  described 
by  a  transitive  verb)  this  action  crosses  over  the  space  between  them  to 
another  separate  entity  (the  object).  (If  the  verb  is  intransitive  the  sub- 
ject is  still  considered  to  be  a  separate  entity...).  This  pervasive  structure 
contributes  to  patterns  of  thought  which  fragment  life  and  view  it  as 
consisting  of  parts  (external  to  each  other)  that  are  essentially  fixed  and 
static...  these  thought  patterns  contribute  to  countless  social/environ- 
mental ills... 

Speech  is  a  constant  stratagem  to  cover  naked- 
ness... (Harold  Pinter) 

I  wonder  what  you  look  like  when  you're  not 
wearing  words  (Ani  DiFranco) 

Shhh! 

silence  is  the  language  of  all;  of  all  ages,  places  and  times,  it  conveys, 
better  than  words,  the  incredible  joys  and  possibilities  of  life... 
everv-thing  carries  this  silent  message  -  you  have  been  (un)avvare  of  it... 

Silence/Oppression/Liberation 

the  oppressor  seeks  not  only  to  subdue  the  victim  but  also  attempts 
to  (e)limi(na)t(e)  the  vocabulary  for  articulating  victimization  while 
constricting  the  instinct  for  freedom  (modified  from  Thomas  Szasz) 

Silent  oppression  is  the  most  powerful...  Oppression  always  involves 


the  creation  of  forbidden  zones  where  thought  may  not  \enture  and  which  ' 
are  surrounded  by  silence  or  illusion.  While  complaints  might  be  voiced-  | 
they  are  almost  always  in  superficial  terms  without  an  expression  of  the  j 
nature  of  true  discontent.  Many  oppressions  have  no  name...      .-Mone 
we  can  change  ver>  little  -  liberation  waits  in  silence  for  the  moment 

of  expression...  bell  hooks  notes  that  for 
the  oppressed  true  speaking  "is  an  act  of 
resistance,  a  political  gesture  that  chal- 
lenges politics  of  domination  that  would 
render  us  nameless  and  voiceless...  mov- 
ing from  silence  to  speech  is  a  gesture  of 
defiance  that  heals,  that  makes  new  life 
and  new  growth  possible...  (hooks  -  talk- 
ing back). 

What  are  the  words  you  do  not 
yet  have?  What  do  you  need  to  say?  For 
it  is  not  difference  that  immobilizes  us 
but  silence.   And  there  are  so  many  si- 
ences  to  be  broken  (Audre  Lorde). 


Deleuze:  if  the  protests  of  children  were  heard  in  kindergarten,  if  their 
questions  were  attended  to,  it  would  be  enough  to  explode  the  entire 
educational  system... 

A  sub-verse  silence  is  spreading. ..silence  is  not  nec- 
essarily the  absence  of  words  or  music  or  even  of  raw 
sounds...  silence  can  be  a  vast  Utopian  scheme-  a  plan 
rigorously  executed...  the  dream  of  a  new  beginning... 
it  has  form(lessness)  -  it  has  no  borders... 

at  the  same  time  we  are  all    realizing  the 

iim)possible  and  it  is  the  same  time... 
3ngU3gG  represents  an  ever-changing  real- 
ity with  concrete  metaphors  which  mask  its  (our) 
inability  to  fully  grasp  the  dynamic  nature  of  life... 
ISllGnCC  creates  multiplicity  within 
language(s)...  difference  can  be  the  condition  of 
meanmg...  I 

soulsforeverpassingintoneanothernowordsinterru 
ptingthemarvelousilenceofuniversalecstasy  j 

Despite  our  efforts  to  verbally  communicate  there 
remains  (between  us)  an  unstated  truth... 
Despite  our  efforts  to  communicate  our  wor(l)ds 
(remain)  separate...  j 

Mime 

•  Filin  is  the  art  of  creating  illusion  through 
reality,  while  mime  is  the  art  of  creating  real- 
ity through  illusions.  -Marcel  Marceau 

•        A  mime  must  first  transform  thinking,  by  very  elaborated,  constant 
practice.  We  learn  to  think  words  in  this  culture.   A  mime  must  think  j 
movement,  vision,  images  and  non-linearly;  and  this  process  must  be  given  'i 
unlimited  time  to  evolve.   Only  when  this  new  way  of  thinking  is  ab-  i 
sorbed  can  one  begin  with  the  analytical  work.  Later  the  improvisation  | 
comes  to  enlarge  the  scope  of  the  work.  One  of  the  practices  is  to  fast  | 
from  words  one  day  a  week,  to  bring  it  to  a  habit,  in  order  to  penetrate  the  > 
realm  of  silence.   Later  we  shape  this  silence  with  movement,  giving  it 
multidimensional  reality...  (modified  from:  Samuel  Avital) 
•       perhaps...  we  have  known  all   this  before...  it  simply  exists  and 
remains  essentially  unchanged  (and  ever-changing)...  directing  atten- 
tion to  the  progressive  movement  and  growth  of  shape...  to  the  beauti- 
ful, to  movements  and  gestures,  oscillations  and  still  movements,  to  the 


.r.     .olors  and  tunes,  to  the  essence  anticipated  within  every  action 

■■■':  creature...  the  secret  hidden  in  the  diOerence  of  similar  and  in  the 

\  similarity  of  different  things...  there  is  a  certain  unity,  an  all-embracing 

concealed  connecting  rhythm...  in  this  (no)thing(ness)  lies  the  (non)sense 

of  everything...  (e.xcerpted  and  embellished  from  the  program  notes  to 

the  Czech  pantomime  A  Siran^e  Divum  of  a  Clown). 


"each"  or  an  "other".  We  mingled  sounds  of  ecstasy  or  merged  into  silences 
of  even  deeper  import.  For  some  reason  this  delightful  process  was  inter- 
aipted  and  "each"  and  "other"  came  again... 

This  has  long  been  present — we  all  constantly  think  of  it — every- 
one is  aware  of  it — everyone  thinks  of  it  (constantly)  most  just  accept  it 
and  are  (n)e\er  amazed  bv  it... 


silence  con(s)t(r)ains  nothing     life  is  (e)merging 


Mamako  Yoneyamama  describes  haiku  (an  unrhymcd  poem  composed 
of  only  three  lines)  as  a  brief  statement  which  creates  a  feeling  of  "all  of 
life's  phenomena  as  inspirationally.  as  existentially  and  as  economi- 
cally as  possible."  "These  few  words,"  she  asserts,  "are  dropped  in  the 
pond  of  silence.  They  ripple  tor  a  moment  and  then  silence  returns." 

4  J  J  On  August  24.  1 952  pianist  David  Tudor  premiered  .lohn 
Cage's  piano  sonata  in  three  movements:  4"33".  Tudor  walked  to  the 
piano,  opened  and  closed  it  three 
times  (at  the  beginning  and  end- 
ing of  each  of  the  three  move- 
ments) Tudor  otherwise  sat  still 
for  4  minutes  and  33  seconds...  In 
the  first  mo\  ement  the  w  ind  stirred 
the  trees...  in  the  second  move- 
ment raindrops  began  patterning 
the  roof  and  by  the  third  move- 
ment people  were  whispering  - 
others  were  leaving... 

Imagined  in  1948,  Cage  "composed"  the  silent  sonata  o\er  the 
next  four  years  (in  1 948  he  initially  hoped  to  sell  it  ( in  manuscript  form) 
to  the  Mu/ak  company  to  addresses  the  desire  which  exists  in  all  of  us 
for  new  forms — transmute!). 

In  1951  Cage  entered  an  anechoic  chamber  -  within  this  sound- 
proofroom  he  was  able  to  hear  the  sounds  of  his  blood  circulation  and 
his  ner\ous  system.  With  this  experience  Cage  proved  to  himself  that 
silence  could  not  be  the  absence  of  sound.  According  to  Cage,  the  world 
teems  with  silent  sounds  (called  silence  because  they  do  not  contain 
musical  intentions...).  The  experience  of  this  silence  allows  for  a  change 
and  amplification  of  the  world  which  envelops  us...  as  this  process  un- 
folds we  are  able  to  enjoy  the  harmonies  which  are  uninterruptedly 
present  but  intennittently  experienced... 

Silence  hinders  the  re-membering/recurrence  of 
beautiful  moments... 

The  serene  silence  which  follows  an  experience  -  creates  a  place  for 
the  experience,  silence  is  like  the  echo  after  a  sound...  It  amplifies  the 
experience  -creating  a  resonant  space  which  extends,  culminates,  culti- 
vates, and  furthers  this  experience  which  dialogue  tries  to  keep  alive 
within  us.  Silent  discourse  extends  the  effort  to  retain  and  protract  ex- 
perience to  a  maximum  frontier  of  time,  space  and  awareness. 

Imagine  what  the  change  could  be  -if  what  was 
thought  so  constantly  was  said  not  kept — locked 
up — in  all  of  our  heads... 

•too  many  people  thinking;  no  one  thinks  like  this*  "what  if  no  one  else 
agrees?  it's  too  much  of  a  risk..."  (elements  of  a  citi/en  fish  song). 

Silence  Fiow(er)ing: 
lovevolvelovevolvelovcvolvevolvcvolvelove 

boundaries  between  IkkIics  became  hluned     thinking  aiul  dieaniing  as  one  .. 
con-fused  as  to  where  each  ended  and  all  began     passions  llow(er)ed 
the  world  contracted  to  us  and  expanded  to  infinity     for  one  perfect  mo- 
ment the  (im)possible  union  ol  spheres  was  actual     love  beyond  desire 
the  feeling  was  as  magnificeiii  as  anvthing  ever  felt     wor(l)ds  llowed  to- 
gether... each  attempted  to  explain  to  the  other  but  there  v\  as  no  longer  an 


silence 


life  death....  the  next  phase  of  evolution  requires 
that  we  must  either  become  wholly  mental  creatures  or  overcome  "clock' 
time  and  find  the  eternity  in  this  instant...  physical  existence  is  a  very 
temporary  state...  this  thought  was  delightful  and  disturbing...  it  was  the 
most  serious  and  silly  notion... 

Then  it  occurred:  "this  is  the  experience  of  death...  this  experience 
is  what  all  must  experience  when  their  physical  life  ends...  are  we  about 
to  die?"  This  question  had  been  considered  countless  times...  the  an- 
swer was  "yes  and  no  and  there- 
fore yes..."  "yes...  death  is  inevi- 
table and  against  the  eternity  of 
time  it  will  occur  in  the  next  mo- 
ment... no  it  did  not  happen  that 
night  and  perhaps  will  not  hap- 
pen for  another  sixty  years...  or 
sixty  seconds...". 


silence  =  death 
death  is  siience(d) 


Hiroshima:  the  strangest  thing  was  the  silence...  You'd  think  that 
people  would  be  panic-stricken,  running  yelling...  Thev  moved  in  slow 
motion,  like  figures  in  a  silent  movie...  many  simply  dropped  to  the 
ground  and  died...  Setsuko  Thurlow 

The  silence  surrounding  death  is  powerful...  many  approach  deaths 
with  surprise  and  act  as  if  it  is  an  accident  which  happens  only  to  the 
unfortunate... 

every-thing  is  impermanent  but  life  has  continuity — time  is  elas- 
tic— time  can  dilate — we  can  immerse  ourseh  es  in  this  moment  or  ev  olve 
(beyond)  our  physical  realities...  everv-thing  is  transient — we  cannot 
really  possess  any-thing...  Why  do  we  all  waste  so  much  precious  time 
talking  thinking  about  triv  ialities?  Why  don't  we  spend  our  time  trans- 
fonning  this  w  orld.  lo\  ing  those  around  us  and  perpetually  realizing  the 
many  pleasures  we  have  discinered? 

Sometime  (perhaps)  we  will  all  communicate  until  our 
wor(l)ds  become  too  sweet  for  utterance...  we  will  live 
in  moments  that  cannot  die  while  en\elopcd  in  their 
own  eternity...  ahem... 

As  we  communicate  our  greatest  pains  and  frustrations — healing  can 
begin  as  we  continue  to  nipture  the  silence  about  the  horrible  oppres- 
sion and  destruction  happening  on  this  planet  we  will  further  universal 
(r)evolution.  As  we  learn  to  communicate  and  collectivelv  understand 
it...  we  will  learn  to  overcome  the  silences  conventional  communica- 
tion creates  and  communicate  in  new  forms...  as  we  (dis)solve  silences 
the  "peak  experiences"  that  manv  of  us  are  consistentiv  feeling  w  ill  be- 
come mi>re  and  more  common...  the  ecstasy  of  communication  is  amaz- 
ing and  echoing... 

haymarket  martyr  august  spies  last  words:  there 
will  come  a  time  »  hen  our  silence  >\  ill  be  more  pow- 
erful than  the  voices  >()u  stranjjie  toda\!   n 

a  «i  a  p  e— m/sz— 8-29  -(H) 


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"Mexico  is  more  than  just  Chiapas."  announced  Mathew 

Carlin  dI' the  San  Francisco.  California  based  human  rights  organiza- 
tion, Cjlobal  Exchange.  Though  the  activist  scene  and  even  the  main- 
stream U.S.  media  have  given  coverage  to  the  plight  ofindigenous  com- 
munities in  the  southeastern  Mexican  slate  of  Chiapas,  very  little  infor- 
mation is  being  disseminated  about  the  dirty  u  ar  occurring  in  the  south- 
em  Mexican  state  of  (iuerrero.  (iiven  the  potential  power  of  the  media 
as  a  site  of  global  resistance  and  democracy,  the  silence  of  the  media  is 
deadly — silence  greases  the  wheels  of  civil  complicity  and  ensures  gov- 
ernmental, corporate,  and  civil  impunity.  Without  communication,  re- 
pression is  institutionally  sanctioned,  and  then  endured  by  the  citizens 
of  Guerrero — and  the  rest  of  the  world  who  are  forced  to  endure  daiiv. 
continuous  abuse  at  the  hands  of  municipal,  state,  and  federal  authori- 
ties and  "security"  forces.  We  write  this  article  out  of  a  sense  of  respon- 
sibility as  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  America.  As  one  t)f  the  largest 
consumptive  bodies  in  the  world  and  thus,  one  of  the  strongest  and  most 
influential  forces  in  the  historically  constant  and  culturally  embedded 
process  of  genocide,  the  United  States  maintains  one  of  the  bloodiest 
connections  to  (iuerrerro  and  the  rest  of  the  world. 

Human  rights  work  in  (iuerrero  is  dangerous,  due  to  the  threat  and 
reality  of  military  repression  and  violence.  The  climate  of  fear  main- 
tained in  (iuerrerro  necessitates  international  human  rights  solidarity 
and  work.  For  these  reasons,  the  Mexico  Solidarity  Network  organized 
a  luinian  rights  delegation  lo  (iuerrero.  This  past  March,  we.  along  with 

by  Michelle  Luellen  and  Heather  Pruess 


thirteen  others,  arrived  in  TIapa.  Guerrero  to  meet  with  indigenous  orga 
nizations  and  human  rights  workers.  Delegation  members  comprised 
speetnnn  of  ages  and  backgrounds,  though  the  majority  of  us  were  eithe 
university  employees  or  students.  While  we  were  in  Guerrero.  Abe 
Barrera,  Director  of  the  Human  Rights  Center  of  the  Mouniai 
(TIachinollan),  hosted  us.  He  and  others  working  for  the  human  right 
center  set  up  our  entire  visit,  organizing  encucntros  with  activ  ists  in  Tlap 
and  with  indigenous  civic  organizations  in  the  municipalities  o 
Temalaeatzingo  and  Metlatonoc.  We  met  with  people  from  diverse  sec 
tors  of  local  society:  progressive  clergy,  teacher  s  union  representative? 
representatives  from  the  local  indigenous  radio  station,  environmental 
ists.  etc. 

Here  is  a  statistical  picture  of  the  land  we  entered: 

Population:  2, 7()0.0()0  distributed  throughout  76  municipalities. 
The  majority  of  the  population  is  poor  fanners. 

(iuerrero  is  now  considered  the  third  poorest  state  in  Mexico 
behind  Chiapas  and  Oaxaca  (some  reports,  however,  place 
(iuerrero  first  in  terms  of  poverty). 

Thirteen  percent  of  (iuerrero 's  population  is  made  up  of  the  in- 
digenous Nahuas.  Mixtecos.  Tlapanecos  and  .AiiKiiaigos.  who 
live  pnmarilv  in  the  mountain  region  and  "La  Costa  Chica" 
where  the  poorest  municipalities  of  the  state  are  Uvated. 

In  relation  to  the  rest  of  Mexico,  Guerrero: 
•Is  recognized  as  hav  ing  the  highest  percentage  of  earth  fliwrs 
(57.5"''«) 


•has  the  highest  population  of  illiterate  fathers  (53.4%)  and 

illiterate  mothers  (54.7%) 
•records  the  highest  percentage  of  severe  infant  malnutrition 
(32.4%) 

Po\erty  in  Guerrero  is  intense  and  carefully  calculated,  facilitated, 
legitimated  and  maintained  by  the  Mexican  government,  international 
corporations  and  financial  institutions  and  the  Pentagon  under  the  guise 
of  stnictural  adjustment  (read:  profit!  protltl  profitl).  In  "A  Summary  of 
the  Militarization  and  Violation  of  Human  Rights  in  Guerrero."  Global 
Exchange  notes  that  increased  po\  erty  is  coupled  with  increased  militari- 
zation. Poverty  and  militarization  are  endemic  throughout  the  entire  state, 
but  are  e\ en  worse  in  indigenous  communities.  In  non-indigenous  com- 
munities the  le\cl  of  malnutrition  in  children  under  the  age  of  five  is  38.5 
percent,  in  communities  with  indigenous  presence  this  rate  rises  to  43.2 
percent  and  in  indigenous  communities  the  rate  of  malnutrition  for  chil- 
dren under  the  age  of  5  rises  to  the  incredible  level  of  58.3  percent.  They 
noted  that  73.6  percent  of  all  children  of  indigenous  communities  in 
(iucrrero  are  sutTering  from  malnutrition. 

The  past  1 5  years  have  yielded  an  increasingly  tight  monetary  and 
personnel  relationship  between  US  and  Mexican  security  forces.  Need- 
less to  say,  in  the  midst  of  these  transactions,  human  rights  and  social 
welfare  ha\e  fallen  by  the  wayside.  In  1999,  the  US  dished  out  at  least 
S21  million  to  Mexican  security  forces.  This  funding  has  enabled  the 
modernization  of  the  Mexican  army,  which  has  used  the  resources  to  cre- 
ate and  train  new  military  units  and  procure  new  vehicles  and  equipment. 
A  substantial  portion  of  US  aid  to  the  Mexican  army  is  realized  in  the 


form  of  training.  Mexican  army  officers  comprise  the  second  largest  na- 
tional population  of  students  at  the  School  of  the  Americas  in  Ft.  Benning, 
Georgia.  Their  attendance — along  with  the  bulk  of  aid  received  by  Mexi- 
can security  forces  from  the  US — is  deceptively  premised  on  counter  nar- 
cotics designs,  but  in  indigenous  communities  increased  militarization 
has  resulted  in  maintaining — in  a  climate  of  fear — the  hegemony  of  local 
pow  er  holders  via  torture,  sexual  assault,  detainment  and  death. 

The  parmership  between  the  US  and  Mexican  governments,  the  prodi- 
gal protectorates  of  free  trade,  has  left  indigenous  communities  ignored 
at  best  and,  at  worst,  targeted  and  isolated  low  -intensity  war  zones.  Trapped 
in  the  clutches  of  depri\ation,  Guerranese  communities  are  essentialK 
left  at  the  mercy  of  local  party  machines,  namely  the  PRI  (Party  of  Insti- 
aitional  Revolution),  which  until  the  national  presidential  elections  in  July, 
maintained  a  tenuous  and  largely  corrupt  political  hold  throughout  the 
country.  The  Miguel  Agustin  Pro  Juarez  Human  Rights  center  notes  that 
in  Guerrero,  since  1 989.  electoral  gains  by  the  major  opposition  party,  the 
PRD  (Party  of  Democratic  Revolution),  have  resulted  in  an  escalation  of 
violence  directed  at  ci\  ilians  and  opposition  party  members.  The  recent 
October  3.  1999  PRI  loss  in  Acapulco  might  be  construed  as  a  declaration 
of  war  on  the  part  of  state  police,  military  and  political  bodies — leaders  in 
the  campaigns  of  terror  waged  in  Guerreran  communities.  The  pretext  for 
the  near-total  militarization  of  Guerrenese  communities  is  again,  the  need 
to  combat  and  eliminate  armed  groups  and  narco-tratTickers.  According 
to  Digna  Ochoa,  lawyer  for  the  Miguel  Agustin  Pro  Human  Rights  Cen- 
ter, "Guerrero  has  been  one  of  the  states  where  human  rights  violations 
have  been  endemic...  The  situation  in  Guerrero  has  gone  fi"om  bad  to 
worse."  Ochoa  was  detained  and  tortured  in  her  home  in  October,  1 999, 
for  advocacy  on  the  part  of  peasants  and  political  prisoners.  Rodolfo 
Montiel  Flores  and  Teodoro  Cabrera  Garcia. 

Impunity  has  maintained  the  intensification  of  violence  and  militari- 
zation. Ochoa  notes  that  the  Mexican  Army  has  assumed  the  functions  of 
police  and  public  security  forces — in  violation  of  the  Mexican  Constitu- 
tion, which  states  that  the  Army  is  responsible  for  national  security,  not 
community  "security."  Along  with  the  military  and  State  Police  involve- 
ment, local  caciques"  head  amied  groups,  patrolling  and  attacking  com- 
munities, "that  are  not  acting  in  accordance  to  their  economic  interests." 
.Again,  these  groups  operate  \\  ith  impunity. 


TESTIMONIES  FROM  GUERRERO 


One  need  not  look  far  for  specific  cases.  On  April  20.  1999,  two 
campesinos,  .Antonio  Mendoza  01i\cro,  12,  and  E\aristo  .Mbino  Tellez. 
27,  left  the  community  of  Bairio  Nuevo  San  Jose  to  pick  maize.  They 
never  returned.  When  Evaristo's  sister-in-law,  Francisca  Santos  Pablo, 
and  01i\  ero's  grandmother.  V'ictoriana  Vazques  Sanchez,  went  to  the  plot 
of  land  to  look  for  them,  they  noticed  a  pool  of  blood.  Military  officers 
then  surrounded  them.  Threatened  with  firearms  and  bound,  the  two 
v\  omen  were  gang  raped.  The  communities  we  visited  on  the  delegation. 
Temalacatzingo  and  Metlatonoc.  comprised  of  Nahautl  and  Mixteco  resi- 
dents. respecti\  ely.  told  similar  stories. 

Our  first  drive  from  Tlapa  into  the  hills  took  us  to  Temalacatzingo. 
where  we  met  with  school  and  community  representatives  and  commu- 
nity members.  The  region  was  completely  deforested.  The  predominantly 
Nahuatl  residents  told  us  about  the  problems  faced  in  the  community, 
problems  dues  to  lack  of  resources  and  political  factionalization.  They 
asked  that  we  witness  and  bring  their  testimonies  back  to  the  States.  A 
man  spoke  of  the  military  presence  in  his  community.  He  said,  "The  gov- 
ernment wants  us  dead.  Our  language  [Nahuatl]  is  a  shame.  We  are  of  no 
use."  Follow  ing  him.  in  a  meeting  that  lasted  for  four  hours,  people  spoke 
in  a  similar  vein  about  the  deforestation  of  the  mountains,  death  of  tlic 
rivers  and  paucity  of  community  resources.  The  Superintendent  of  School 
#10,  located  in  Temalacatzingo,  detailed  an  urgent  need  for  teachers,  but 
given  the  paltry  pay.  recruitment  is  nearly  impossible.  The  school  build- 
ing, he  said,  was  inadequate,  lacking  space  and  equipment.  There  are  487 


j,iijviv.  ...  at  the  scIiodI.  which  houses  only  1X7  desks.  With  only  two 
classrooms,  classes  must  take  place  in  the  sun.  It  lacks  drainage.  The 
authorities  pay  no  heed — until  election  day.  The  people  can  not  grow 
food — not  in  the  dust  that  laces  the  entire  mountain.  The  people  subside 
on  tortillas,  sometimes  salsa  and  rarely  meat  or  milk.  The  closest  source 
of  water  is  five  miles  away  and  drought  has  been  a  constant  for  the  past 
four  years.  People  die  of  curable  diseases  because  medicine  is  not  avail- 
able. Without  a  means  of  survival-no  water,  no  crops  (much  less  nar- 
cotics)— men  have  left  communities  in  startling  numbers,  following  a 
well-worn  path  to  other  Mexican  states  and  then  on  to  the  US.  In  the 
wake  of  their  departure,  women,  "white  widows",  and  their  children  are 
left  behind  in  an  environment  of  machismo  and  military  repression.  In- 
cidents of  rape,  torture  and  disappearance  at  the  hands  of  military  per- 
sonnel, among  others,  inhibit  movement  and  organization,  though  not 
completely. 

Community  life,  as  one  man  described  it,  is  lived  in  a  peace  marked 
by  silence  and  fear.  The  military,  under  the  guise  of  the  drug  war  and 
anti-guerrilla  surv  cillance,  harass  people  about  their  connection  with  the 
dnig  trade.  The  people  said  that  even  though  they  were  pretending  that 
they  knew  nothing  about  it,  the  military  helps  run  the  drug  trade  and 
profits  immensely. 

The  intensity  of  military  occupation  is  relateable  to  political  affin- 
ity. Despite  that  fact  that  the  PRI  receives  a  majority  of  its  votes  in  the 
countryside,  the  largest  concentration  of  support  for  the  oppposition 
parties  are  in  the  indigenous  communities,  thus  these  communities  ex- 
perience heightened  repression.  Heightened  repression,  coupled  with  the 
fact  that  the  political  process  yeilds  little  to  nothing,  according  to  Global 
Exchange,  has  spawned  the  growth  of  amied  guerrilla  groups  in  the  last 
few  years,  "in  reaction  to  the  lack  of  commitment  on  the  behalf  of  the 
state  and  federal  governments  to  sustainable  development  in  the  region." 
The  major  groups  in  Guerrero  being  the  Popular  Revolutionary  Army 
(F.PR)  and  liRPI.  Many  times  the  military  accuses  PRD  supporters  and 
human  rights  workers  of  having  ties  to  the  guerrilla  groups,  even  if  they 
have  no  connection  at  all.  Men  talked  about  being  kidnaped  and  tor- 
tured. Women  spoke  of  rapes  and  beatings  and  "disappeared"  husbands. 
One  man  said  that  the  organizations  that  people  are  involved  in  are  legal 
under  the  constitution,  but  many  have  been  detained  because  of  organiz- 
ing efforts.  If  they  talk  to  the  armed  groups,  they  are  not  necessarily  in 
cahoots  with  them,  but  the  government  uses  this  as  an  excuse  to  perse- 
cute them. 

Elections  in  Temalacatzingt)  and  other  communities  bring  not  the 
chance  to  exercise  one's  democratic  right  (as  ineffective  as  that  may 
seem  to  many  of  us  disaffected  State-siders),  but  the  possibility  of  re- 
ceiving basic  goods  and  foodstuffs.  Days  before  the  election,  politicians 
from  the  PRI  travel  the  countryside  buying  votes  v\  ith  clcspcn.sas.  These 
are  baskets  or  bags  full  of  food,  detergent,  sandals  and  other  necessities 
which  the  PRI  dominated  government  disperses  throughout  the  commu- 
nity in  order  to  insure  PRI  electoral  victory.  One  of  the  men  we  talked  to 
told  us  that  often  times  the  PRI  pays  community  members  the  equiva- 
lent of  one  week's  salary  to  vote  for  the  PRI.  Further,  community  mem- 
bers related  that  election  day  is  openly  fraudulent.  The  PRI  posts  a  mem- 
ber at  voting  booths  to  check  voters  and  their  ballots.  A  report  on  elec- 
tion monitoring  published  by  Global  Exchange  and  The  Human  Rights 
Center  of  the  Mountain,  detailed  low  voter  turn  out,  PRI  members  ob- 
serving and  interfering  with  balloting,  people  trying  to  vote  with  cre- 
dentials not  belonging  to  them,  people  being  told  how  to  vote,  voting 
booths  being  moved,  etc.  Desperation  and  isolation  allow  the  PRI  the 
ability  to  manipulate  and  depend  on  these  communities  for  the  majority 
of  its  votes. 

Election  time  is  generally  the  only  time  that  indigenous  people  en- 
counter outsiders  in  their  communities.  We  encountered  this  reality  on 
our  second  foray  into  the  mountains,  high  into  the  mountains,  where 
indigenous  communities  have  been  pushed  for  centuries.  We  arrived  in 
Metlatonoc  via  a  w  indy  path  many  would  be  hardpressed  to  call  a  road 
to  meet  with  an  in-the-process-of-organizing  Mizteco  womens"  weav- 
ing collective.  Some  of  the  women  had  braved  a  12-hour  walk  across 
the  hills  to  meet  with  us.  no  mean  feat  considering  the  danger  posed  by 


the  military  and  paramilitaries  patrolling  the  regions.  Metlatonoc  is  con- 
sidered one  of  the  poorest  regions  of  Guerrero.  The  only  significant  new 
housing  that  has  been  built  in  many  years  was  a  military  barracks  and 
base.  As  we  were  riding  into  the  area,  we  were  in  awe  of  the  large,  new- 
looking  buildings  and  instantly  knew  that  they  were  not  built  to  benefit 
the  community,  which  is  regarded  as  hav  ing  the  second  highest  rate  of 
marginalization.  Again,  outsiders  enter  Metlatonoc  to  get  something  out 
of  the  people,  like  information  or  votes.  The  benefits  for  the  people  arc 
short-lived.  Why  would  their  expectations  differ  as  far  as  our  visit  was 
concemed?  Consequently,  it  seemed  that  they  did  not  fully  understand 
why  we  were  there.  Our  purpose  was  to  show  our  solidarity  with  their 
community  and  hear  their  stories  so  that  we  could  bring  them  back  to 
the  United  States. 

We  did  not  expect  the  treatment  we  received  w hen  we  arriv ed.  The 
entire  community  arranged  themselves  around  us  and  started  petitioning 
us.  People  intitially  came  to  us  one  at  a  time,  and  then  they  all  strartcd 
talking  at  once.  As  the  meeting  commenced,  community  members  took 
tums  introducing  themselv  es  and  speaking,  describing  how  their  commu- 
nities have  been  torn  apart  economically  and  env ironmentally;  we  heard 
that  land  is  being  taken  away,  animals  stolen  and  killed,  human  beings 
killed,  disappeared,  and  tortured  on  a  daily  basis.  The  women  subside  on 
money  receiv  ed  from  weav  ing  traditional  gannents,  but  without  access  to 
major  economic  centers,  they  are  forced  to  deal  with  dishonest  middle- 
men who  set  low  prices  for  the  women's  crafts  that  the  women  cannot 
afford  to  refuse.  But  they  do  resist.  During  the  meeting,  an  army  vehicle 
approached  the  outdoor  meeting  area  we  were  in;  armed  with  AK-47s,  the 
vehicle  circled  us.  Two  militarv  personnel  left  the  vehicle  and  walked 
slowly  around  us,  guns  in  hand.  The  women  paid  them  no  heed  by  con- 
tinuing to  decry  the  loss  of  their  way  of  life,  unintimidated.  They  resist  by 
organizing  themselves,  organizing  the  meeting,  welcoming  us,  and  bear- 
ing witness. 

And  then  we  left.  We  all  boarded  planes  and  returned,  heav y  v\ ith 
know  ledge  and  experience  and  uncertain  of  vv  hat  to  do  w  ith  it,  to  our 
lives  of  relative  privilege.  The  information  that  we  read  about  Guerrero 
before  we  left  in  no  way  prepared  us  for  what  we  vv  itnessed.  In  the  "fourth 
world"  of  indigenous  communities,  genocide  is  not  only  an  aspect  of  a 
tortured  history,  but  a  current  event.  In  Guerrero,  in  the  impoverished 
and  marginalized,  mountaintop  communities  of  Temalcatzingo  and 
Metlatanoc,  oppression  is  driving  people  to  organize  and  make  demands. 
Through  the  collaboration  with,  and  fonnation  of.  human  rights  groups 
and  encampments  on  municipals  center  sidewalks  and  city  hall  steps. 
the  people  of  Guerrero  are  demanding  basic  necessities  like  drinkable 
water,  accessible  water  wells,  fertilizer,  the  release  of  loved  ones  from 
INS  detention  centers,  the  bodies  of  the  disappeared,  meats  and  beans  to 
supplement  tortillas.  A  lot  of  us,  living  in  a  context  of  priv  ilege,  found  it 
ditTicult  to  reconcile  our  lifestyles  in  the  US.  Ev  en  first  generation  Latino 
a  delegation  members  met  with  difficulty  and  guilt  the  awareness  of  the 
utter  degradation  lived  by  the  people  we  met.  But,  in  turn,  we  were  all 
awed  and  inspired  by  their  corresponding  will,  detemiination,  and  per- 
severance and  struggle.  We  came  away  with  an  increased  understanding 
of  the  continuing  process  of  genocide,  occurring  in  the  mountains  of 
Guerrero.  Mexico,  the  US  and  the  rest  of  the  world.  Genocide  rather 
innocuously  describes  the  world  of  hurt  that  is  the  lived  experience  of 
yesterday  and  todav  and  also  the  future  if  it  is  not  brought  to  the  con- 
sciousness of  white  people,  vv  ho  by  the  ignorance  inscribed  in  dominant 
belief  systems,  reproduce  it  daily  in  their  consumptive  patterns.  The  del- 
egation taught  us  to  reproduce  the  struggle  we  encountered  in  solidarity 
vv  ith  oppressed  people  even,  vv  here.  The  words  of. American  Indian  Move- 
ment activ  ist  and  professor  Ward  Churchill  are  appropriate:  "Movements 
don't  work  without  a  .sense  of  history...  the  history  of  genocide  is  not 
one  to  bequeath...  It  must  be  named,  defined,  conquered  and  ended... 
We  all  understand  this."  ^ 


lor    more    inlormation    contact:       Global    Exchange    at 
www. globaIexchange.org  or  (4 1 5)  .*!.'58-44S6. 


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A  Brief 
History 
of  Skate 


newberg  oregon 


•>,-?-;.•: ,  va'! 


jered  bogli 


By  most  accounts,  skateboarding  is  somewhere  in  its  40s.  There 
are  countless  stories  about  skateboarding.  Any  skater  can  go  on  for  hours 
about  backyard  ramps  and  empty  pools,  getting  chased  by  cops,  rednecks, 
jocks,  store  owners  and  every  other  member  of  society.  At  least,  that's 
the  story  I  would  tell.  1  began  skating  in  the  late  1980s  and  the  situation 
was  not  good.  Skateboarding  was  entirely  underground:  skaters  were 
among  the  lowest  on  the  food  chain  (right  there  with  band  geeks).  I 
started  skating  at  one  of  the  low  points  in  the  development  of  the  sport. 
If  I  had  been  bom  10  years  earlier,  I  would  have  had  numerous  parks  to 
skate  and  many  more  people  to  skate  with.  What  happened  to  the  parks 
in  the  N80s?That  is  a  question  I  started  asking  myself  about  a  year  ago. 
1  live  in  the  state  Thrasher  magazine  calls  the  "king  of  skate  parks." 
Oregon.  I  began  asking  this  question  because  Oregon  is  seeing  an  in- 
credible number  of  skate  parks  being  built.  Free  public  skate  parks  ... 
this  was  unheard  of  10  years  ago!  My  goal  is  to  explain  where  skate 
parks  came  from,  why  they  disappeared,  provide  insight  into  the  pro- 
cess of  building  a  skate  park  and  see  whal  the  "magic  eight  ball"  says 
about  the  future  of  skateboard  parks  in  the  United  States. 

The  Boom 

The  first  skate  park  opened  in  1976  in  Daytona  Florida — Skate- 
board City.  A  week  later,  Carlsbad  Skate  Park  opened  in  California.  These 
were  the  first  two  real  skate  parks  the  world  had  seen.  Before  these  parks, 
people  had  been  riding  parks  that  occur  somewhat  naturally,  as  a 
byproduct  of  our  progress  as  a  society.  Some  examples  of  these  natural 
parks  are  the  legendary  asphalt  banks  of  the  Renter  Canyon  School  (as 
seen  in  many  Glen  E.  Friedman  photos)  and  the  Paul  Revere  School  as 
well  as  countless  other  California  schoolyards  that  served  as  unotTicial 
skate  parks.  There  were  also  the  banked  concrete  walls  of  drainage 
ditches. 

Official  parks  began  appearing  when  city  governments  started  ha- 
rassing skateboarders  and  skate  parks  became  the  only  sanctioned  places 
to  skate.  In  California,  there  were  many  skate  parks.  Florida  had  Kona 
(which  survived  the  80s  and  is  still  around  today!).  In  New  Jersey,  there 
was  Cherry  Hill  Skate  park.  Skate  parks  were  everywhere. 


Lynn  Cooper,  a  skater  and  historian  who  grew  up  during  the  first 
skate  park  explosion  of  the  70s  said  Whittier  Skate  City  "had  the  best 
clo\  erpool  I  e\  er  skated."  Colton  Skate  Ranch  had  its  great  snake  runs. 
Best  known  and  one  of  the  last  of  70s  parks  to  fall  to  the  bulldozer  was 
Del  Mar.  Most  of  the  older  skate  footage  of  Tony  Hawk  is  of  Hawk 
ruling  Del  Mar.  Lynn  has  footage  in  the  skate  history  video  he  just  re- 
leased titled  "Wheeling  In  The  Years"  of  Mike  McGill  doing  the  first 
540  McTwist  in  the  US!!!  You  also  had  parks  like  Concrete  Wave  in 
Anaheim.  Skatopia  in  Buena  Park  and,  most  memorable  to  Lynn, 
Sadlands,  the  public  park  in  Anaheim  named  by  the  ever  creative  Neil 
Blender,  if  you've  ever  seen  any  old  skate  videos,  you've  seen  Sadlands. 
Sadlands  consisted  of  weird  pylon  things  sticking  up  out  of  the  ground 
with  fairly  tight  transitions.  Lynn  described  Sadlands  as  a  moonscape. 

The  Bust 

The  skate  park  boom  lasted  from  1976-1981 .  Only  tlve  years  from 
construction  to  demolition  for  most  skate  parks.  What  forced  the  parks 
out  of  business?  Lynn  made  some  interesting  observations  on  the  de- 
mise of  the  parks.  He  noted  that  in  the  1970s,  the  skateboard  industry 
was  very  small  and  there  "wasn't  a  huge  industry  backed  by  millions  of 
dollars."  Lynn  made  a  great  point  about  "a  cylindrical  downturn  in  at- 
tendance at  the  skate  parks."  Lynn  says,  "As  more  parks  were  built, 
people  went  to  the  bigger  and  better  parks.  Eventually  the  parks  couldn't 
sustain  themselves  as  much."  I  found  that  to  be  very  interesting;  the 
market  got  saturated  and  started  to  feed  on  itself.  High  insurance  prices 
and  lawsuits  are  often  cited  as  the  main  destroyers  of  the  parks,  but  I 
think  the  trends  Lynn  observed  are  probably  bigger  factors.  The  satura- 
tion of  the  market  may  have  caused  the  owners,  unable  to  afford  the 
insurance  due  to  decreased  attendance,  to  close  their  parks.  The  industry 
was  unable  to  advocate  and  promote  itself  outside  its  own  community 
which  may  have  also  contributed  to  the  downfall  of  the  first  generation 
of  parks. 

After  the  parks  closed  in  the  early  80s,  skateboarding  went  under- 
ground and  any  city  street  became  the  terrain  of  choice.  There  were 
endless  places  to  skate — if  it  was  paved  it  was  fair  game.  Backyard  ramps 


[places] 


CD 


tl^ 


r^' 


The  skate  park  boom 
rrr    lastocl  from  1976-1981. 
Only  five    years  from 
construction  to  demoli- 
tion for  most  skate 
parks.    The  market  got 
saturated  and  started 
to  feed  on  itself.  The 
ipe  saturation  of  the  mar- 
ket may  have  caused 
the  owners,  unable  to 
afford  the  insurance 
due  to  decreased  atten- 
dance, to  close  their 
parks. 


began  appearing  all  o\oi"  but  mostly  skating  was  about  handrails,  stairs, 
ledges  and  gaps.  Even  while  underground,  skateboarding  experieneed 
some  growth  and  reecssion.  Then  there  was  an  event  that  ehanged  ev- 
erything— Green  Day  was  on  the  radio  and  anything  punk  was  instantly 
cool,  anything  underground  was  above  ground  and  skateboarding  was 
back  on  the  upswing. 

Resurgence 

Today  skate  parks  are  being  built  at  an  unprecedented  rate.  The 
Skate  Park  Association  of  the  USA  estimates  that  over  300  skate  parks 
are  currently  under  construction  and  at  least  that  many  in  the  planning 
stages.  Snow  boarding's  popularity  and  the  notion  of  extreme  sports 
(whatever  that  is )  lias  gi\  en  skateboarding  more  credibility  as  \v  ell.  These 
factors,  combined  w ith  a  skateboard  industry  that  is  advocating  for  and 
promoting  itself,  have  served  to  bruig  the  spoil  back  to  prominence. 
Longtime  skateboard  shoemaker.  Vans  has  started  building  skate  parks 
in  malls  throughout  California  and  the  US.  The  Vans  parks  are  interest- 
ing because  they  serve  as  an  "anchor  store",  meaning  the  skate  park  is 
one  of  the  main  reasons  people  go  to  the  mall.  Parents  can  take  their  kids 
to  the  skate  park,  drop  them  off  and  go  shop  for  two  hours  (a  session  at 
any  of  the  Vans  Parks  is  two  hours  long — very  convenient).  During  a 
recent  trip  to  San  Francisco,  I  skated  the  Vans  park  in  Milpitas  Califor- 
nia and  was  ama/ed  by  the  way  people  viewed  skateboarding.  People 
skate  in  a  I'ishbowl.  ami  all  around  people  are  watching  you  skate.  Par- 
ents and  small  children,  all  vMth  their  faces  pressed  up  against  the  fence. 
You  see  the  look  of  interest  and  excitement  in  kids'  faces  kids  who 
just  learned  how  to  walk  entranced  by  skating. 

Vans  has  done  something  vcrv  interesting  in  all  their  parks.  Thev 
have  incorporated  elements  from  the  first  wave  into  their  new  parks 
which  glve^  iIkii  p.irks  a  sense  of  history  and  heritage.  At  Milpitas. 


there  is  a  recreation  of  a  bowl  from  Whittier.  The  Vans  park  in  Orange  has 
a  recreation  of  the  combi-pool  from  Upland  Pipeline.  Lynn  verified  the 
recreation  is  similar,  but  noted  a  difference  "A\  Upland  vou  could 
actually  skate  the  shallow  entrance  like  a  mini-halfpipe.  if  you  wanted 
to." 

The  \'ans  parks,  while  great  for  the  sport,  are  quite  different  than 
most  of  the  parks  being  built  right  now.  Most  of  the  parks  being  built  are 
free,  public  parks.  In  Oregon,  wc  currently  have  71  (by  the  time  this  is 
released  the  number  will  be  more  like  80)  public  skate  parks  and  that 
number  grow s  monthly,  possibly  weekly.  Sam  Bcebe  has  been  running 
skateoregon.com.  a  web  site  dedicated  to  skate  parks  in  Oregon,  since 
March  2000  and  has  seen  a  great  number  of  parks  built  in  that  time. 
Skateoregon.com  is  a  great  resource  for  finding  skate  parks  in  Oregon 
that  are  already  built  as  well  as  for  finding  out  which  communities  arc 
planning  parks. 

In  Oregon,  the  smaller  communities  have  bigger  and  better  parks. 
Sam  thought  it  had  to  do  w  ith  more  direct  contact  between  the  kids  in  the 
communit>.  In  a  smaller  community,  ev  er>  one  can  be  inv  olv  ed.  \ou  hav  e 
more  v  oluntecrs,  more  parental  inv  olv  ement.  more  community  involve- 
ment and  it  is  easier  to  deal  w  ith  zoning  and  planning  committees.  In 
addition  to  these  small  communities  having  a  great  deal  of  pride,  they 
want  a  park  that  they  can  showcase;  the>  want  something  great.  Geth 
from  Cirindline  Dreamland  skate  parks  echoed  Sam's  sentiment.  I  talked 
with  Geth  brielly  at  the  opening  of  the  New  berg  skate  park.  In  addition  to 
the  Newberg  park,  (irindline  Dreamland  Skate  Parks  has  built  the  Lin- 
coln C  ity  park,  the  Newport  park  and.  most  tamously  known.  Humsidc. 
Ihey  arc  currently  completing  another  great  park  in  Aumsville  Oregon 
(east  of  Salem).  1  asked  Geth  why  they  located  their  parks  in  small  mral 
towns.  He  said  smaller  towns  allowed  them  the  freedom  to  build  great 
skate  parks,  whereas  in  a  large  municipalitv  thev  would  need  peniiil.s. 
( "AD  renderings,  budgets,  timelines  and  be  subject  to  all  sorts  of  red  tape. 


-<fe» 


'^^^'^-    * 


^  .     • 


-w 


8 


/ 


Today  skate  pa.. v 
^j  are  being  built  at 
'    an  unprecedented 
rate.  The  Skate 
^^  Park  Association  of 
L      the  USA  estimates 
that  over  300 
skate  parks  are 
currently  under 
construction  and 
at  least  that  many 
in  the  planning 
stages. 


newberg  Oregon 


iv>y>" 


Geth  said  working  with  smaller  towns  was  easier;  if  they  had  a  question 
they  could  deal  directly  with  the  person  who  needed  to  answer  the  ques- 
tion. He  also  noted  the  smaller  towns  allowed  them  the  freedom  to  de- 
velop their  parks  organically.  Roll  around  the  Newberg  park  and  you'll 
understand.  The  park  was  built  by  skaters  for  skaters — every  inch  of  con- 
crete serves  a  purpose!  1  asked  Sam  if  anything  specific  facilitated  the 
building  of  so  many  skate  parks  and  he  answered  in  one  word:  "Bumside." 

Bumside  started  as  an  unofficial  park,  unnoticed  by  the  city  until  it 
was  fairly  well  established  (it  helped  that  the  mayor  at  the  time  was  sym- 
pathetic to  skaters  because  his  son  was  a  skater),  at  which  time  the  city 
gmdgingly  accepted  it.  Bumside  is  celebrating  its  ten  year  birthday  this 
halloween  -  a  party  not  to  be  missed!  To  this  day,  any  skater  in  the  world 
knows  of  the  legendary  Bumside.  Most  importantly,  Bumside  showed 
that  individuals  could  do  something.  The  park  in  Kaizer,  Oregon  was 
built  by  a  couple  who  didn't  skate,  and  whose  kids  didn't  skate.  They  just 
wanted  to  build  a  skate  park;  they  just  wanted  to  do  something.  There  was 
a  short  lived  D.I.Y.  park  under  an  overpass  in  San  Diego  which  showed 
the  city  that  skaters  were  serious  about  needing  a  skate  park.  Examples 
like  these  happen  everyw  here  -  a  few  kids  take  over  a  tennis  court,  bring 
in  a  few  ramps  and  a  rail  and  suddenly  there  are  people  using  it  every  day. 
There  are  some  great  statistics  pertaining  to  skatepark  useage  at 
www.skatepark-.org.  It  is  interesting  because  a  skatepark  that  is  built  over 
an  area  the  size  of  four  tennis  courts  can  hold  and  allow  useage  by  many 
more  people  than  tennis  courts  due  to  the  nature  of  the  sport. 

The  last  factor  in  this  new  skate  park  boom  is  the  Internet.  The  Internet 
has  allowed  skate  park-related  information  to  travel  to  places  it  would 
never  have  gone  ten  years  ago.  Online  you  can  find  contractors,  ramp 
plans,  outlines  on  how  to  address  the  city  council  ...  the  list  goes  on.  A 
skateboard  manufacturer.  The  Fimi  has  published  a  thorough  guide  on 
how  to  get  a  skate  park  in  your  community,  and  local  resources  like 
Skatcoregon.com  and  sleestak.net  co\  er  the  Northwest  in  incredible  depth. 


Nationally,  the  Skate  Park  .Association  of  the  USA  (SPAUSA- 
www.spausa.org)  has  a  great  web  site  which  has  all  the  resources  you 
could  ever  need  to  get  a  park  in  your  community.  A  few  minutes  online 
offers  plenty  of  guidance  in  getting  a  skate  park  built  in  your  community. 
Lastly,  some  advice  from  Sam  on  how  to  get  a  park  built:  "Do  lots  of 
research  and  stay  involved  ...  it  is  up  to  the  kids  to  make  sure  the  designer 
knows  and  the  builder  knows  what  (the  kids)  want."  Most  public  parks 
take  four  or  more  years  from  the  first  meetings  to  the  opening  ceremo- 
nies, so  staying  involved  is  the  key  to  getting  the  park  built. 

What  v\  ill  happen  in  another  four  or  five  years?  Will  skate  parks  die 
again,  or  are  they  here  to  stay?  I'm  not  sure,  and  when  I'm  asked  if  skate 
parks  are  here  to  stay  I  consult  my  tmsty  "magic  eight  ball"  which  says 
"Probably  yes."  A  great  deal  has  changed  since  the  first  wave  of  parks. 
Insurance  has  changed,  community  awareness  has  changed  and  the  in- 
dustry itself  has  changed  and  has  started  to  advocate  for  itself  Hopefully, 
the  parks  are  here  to  stay.  While  growing  up  in  suburban  Connecticut,  1 
never  dreamed  a  place  like  Newberg  would  exist.  Now  parks  like  Newberg 
are  becoming  a  normal  part  of  a  community.  I  guess  there  is  an  upside  to 
going  mainstream,  to  becoming  legitimate  ~  as  long  as  skateboarding 
isn't  in  the  Olympics,  everything  will  be  just  fine!  -^ 

Resources: 

www.skateoregon.com    Sam  Beebe  inlerv  lew  tYom  9.28.00 

www.sleestak.net 

www.spausa.org 

wwvv.skatepark.org 

wvvvv.grindline.com 

Lynn  Cooper  e-mail  interview  10.2.00 

Concrete  Wave.  The  History  of  Skateboarding 

by  Michael  Brooke:  Warwick  Publishing:  1999 


fDlacesl 


en 


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The  Fiftti  Release   From   Matador        DBL  LP  -  CD 

Beat.   Rhymes   &    Styles 

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Tlie  Zine  Yearbook  Vol  IV 

excerptii  from  zines  published  in  1999 

fcaluring  48  excerpts  from  39  difl'creni  /ines. 
Full  size.  144  pages,  perfect  bound,  fully 
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i: 


/ 


in  Nedic]ne^--a4^  T%a*ririacy: 

Philadelphia^  1889-1930     ^ 


bv  Robert  Helms 


Within  the  anarchist  scene  of 
Philadelphia  in  the  kite  i9th  and 
early  20th  centuries,  there  was  a 
large  group  of  professionals  v\  ho 
practiced  medicine  or  pharmacy  as 
a  livelihood  while  coinmitting  great 
energies  to  the  movement.  Looking 
just  past  the  surface,  we  find  a 
closely  knit  community  of  intel- 
lectuals who  treated  their  comrades 
as  patients,  educated  the  public  on 
health  related  matters,  and  who 
contributed  substantially  to  the 
cause  with  money  or  the  use  of  their 
facilities. 

A  look  through  the  anarchist 
literature  of  the  period  will  reveal 
the  naines  of  a  remarkable  number 
of  doctors,  who  pioneered  many  of 
the  debates  on  social  changes  that 
are,  by  and  large,  taken  for  granted 
today.  Among  them,  the  best 
known  is  undoubtedly  Ben 
l^eilman,  because  he  catered  to  the 
mamstream  press"  image  of  an  an- 


archist by  iianging  out  in  saloons 
and  hobo  jungles,  once  carrying  on 
a  comic  chase  scene  with  detectives 
through  depailment  stores,  and  gen- 
erally keeping  himself  in  the  realm 
of  romantic  legend.  While 
Reitman  did  his  share  of  fighting 
for  positive  social  change  during 
his  career,  he  was  the  very  least  dis- 
tinguished of  the  anarchist  physi- 
cians of  his  tiine.  (1)  Certainly 
some  his  leading  contemporaries 
made  this  assessinent.  (2)  He  was 
actually  inore  a  political  perfor- 
mance artist  than  a  doctor. 

Reitman's  relative  promi- 
nence is  partly  due  to  his  connec- 
tion to  the  very  famous  Emma 
(ioldman,  but  even  more  due  to  the 
fact  that  almost  nothing  has  been 
written  in  English  about  the  doe- 
tors  whose  work,  both  in  anarchistn 
and  in  medicine,  simply  eclipsed 
the  career  of  the  "hobo  king.""  Such 
is  not  the  case  in  Viddish,  but  not 


a> 


<D 


pictured:  Pharmacist  Jacob  L,  Joffe  and  Family,  courtesy  Arden  Archive 


so  m?.iv,  people  can  read  that  language  these 
days,  or  even  locate  the  books  by  and  about  Jev\- 
isli  anarchist  doctors.  The  major  figures  already 
known  had  careers  in  New  York.  They  include 
1  lillel  SolotarotT.  Jact)b  Abraham  Mary  son  .  and 
Michael  A.  Cohn,  all  ofwhom  were  extremely 
active  in  the  movement  in  addition  to  being  re- 
spected, practicing  physicians.  (3)  While  New 
York's  anarchist  doctors  and  their  contribution 
to  the  mo\  ement  is  known  and  thoroughly  docu- 
mented, their  colleagues  in  Philadelphia  have 
been  almost  completely  forgotten.  (4) 

A  central  event  in  the  tale  of  these  particu- 
lar comrades  was  the  shooting  of  Voltairine  dc 
C'leyre  by  an  insane  former  student  named 
Hcnnan  Helcher  Voltairine  was  already  fairly 
well-known  in  the  international  mo\ement  for 
her  many  essays  and  poems  that  had  been  pub- 
lished in  anarchist  and  atheist  periodicals.  Lo- 
cally, she  v\as  one  of  the  two  best-known  anar- 
chist speakers,  along  with  a  self-educated  En- 
glish-bom shoemaker  named  George  Brown. 
She  earned  a  very  modest  living  by  giving  pri- 
vate lessons  in  English,  French,  and  Piano.  This 
poor,  but  respected  v\oman  was  wounded  by 
three  revolver  shots  on  December  19,  1902  at 
the  comer  of  4th  &  Green  Streets,  as  she  waited 
for  a  trolley  car 

The  early  reports  had  it  that  Voltairine  was 
doomed.  She  had  been  taken  to  Hahnemann 
Hospital,  where  the  inside  of  the  anarchist  medi- 
cal   world  begins  to  reveal  itself.  Daniel  A. 

Dr.  Hillel  Solotaroff  in  1892 


» 


Modell.  M.D..  a  general  practitioner  who  was 
an  anarchist  as  well  as  de  Cleyre's  "family  doc- 
tor," lived  in  her  neighborhood,  which  is  where 
she  was  shot.  (5)  Modell's  presence  at  the  bed- 
side is  no  surprise,  but  mentioned  along  with 
him  was  none  other  than  Dr  William  Williams 
Keen,  who  was  at  that  time  one  of  the  leading 
Surgeons  in  the  world. 

Already  revered  for  having  removed  a  can- 
cerous tumor  from  the  Jaw  of  President  Grover 
Cle\  eland  nine  years  earlier.  Keen  in  1902  was 
co-chair  of  Surgery  at  Jefferson  Medical  Col- 
lege. He  had  already  served  as  the  President  of 
the  American  Medical  Association,  and  he  w  ould 
later  preside  I'or  ten  years  at  the  American  Philo- 
sophical Society,  the  most  distinguished  scien- 
ti  fic  think-tank  in  the  countr>'.  1  le  had  been  teach- 
ing  surgery  at  Jefferson  since  1889. 

Keen  was  consulted  for  a  possible  opera- 
tion, but  he  had  no  affiliation  at  all  with 
Hahnemann  Hospital.  He  recommended  mov- 
ing the  patient  to  his  own  offices,  but  this  was 
never  done.  Her  condition  started  to  improve, 
and  finally  the  bullets  remained  inside  her  for 
the  rest  of  her  life.  But.  aside  from  the  case  of 
the  bleeding  lady  anarchist,  we  need  to  ask  our- 
selves just  how  the  best  medical  talent  on  earth 
came  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it.  Voltairine 
was  a  poor  person,  who  would  do  well  to  get 
help  from  even  a  mediocre  physician  at  a  time 
like  that.  Who  had  brought  in  the  big  gun.  and 
how? 

The  precise 
answer  is  out  of 
our  reach,  but  we 
can  narrow  it 
down  to  two  of 
Keen's  former  stu- 
dents, Leo 
Gartman  and 
Bernhard  Segal, 
who  were  both 
quite  active  in  the 
local  anarchist 
moNcment  at  the 
time.  Dr  Gartman 
may  have  still 
been  on  the  house 
staff  at  Jefferson 
Hospital,  where  he 
practiced  urology 
before  going  into 
private  practice 
nearby  at  525  Pine 
Street. 

Leo  Noy 
Gartman  (C.1S65- 
19,^))  was  bom  to 
a  somewhat 

wealthy  Gemian- 
Jewish  family  in 
Ekaterinoslav  in 
the  likrame.  Be- 
fore arriving  in 
the  US  in  l8S2.he 
was  educated  in 
Germany,  which 
made  him  a 
higher-qualifieil 


Dr  Max  Staller 


candidate 
for  medical 
school  than 
the  average. 
Prior  educa- 
tion was  pre- 
ferred at  the 
time,  but  not 
required  in 
most  institu- 
tions. Before 
entering 
Jefferson,  he 
had  won  a 
scholarship 
in  math- 
ematics at 
the  Univer- 
sity of  Penn- 
sylvania, but  never  used  it.  During  the  1890's, 
Leo  w  as  a  stage  actor  in  Russian-language  pro- 
ductions of  plays  by  Chekov  and  Gogol.  (6) 
Dr  Gartman,  according  to  his  family  folklore, 
had  a  "large  female  practice,  including  many  fast 
women."  (7)  He  was  a  disciple  of  Ha\ clock 
Ellis,  the  great  birth  control  advocate  and  sex 
psychologist,  as  well  as  the  evolutionary  theo- 
rist Ernst  Haekel,  after  whom  he  named  a  son. 
(8)  He  specialized  in  the  treatment  of  venereal 
diseases.  Leo  lectured  at  meetings  held  by  the 
Social  Science  Club  from  mid- 1901. 

Voltairine  earned  the  lasting  respect  of  both 
her  anarchist  friends  and  the  general  public  by 
her  fiat  refusal  to  testify  against  her  assailant, 
who  was  a  familiar  face  in  the  anarchist  scene. 
Her  friends  took  this  a  step  further  by  organiz- 
ing for  his  defense  and  for  him  to  rccei\  e  men- 
tal health  care.  Hemian  had  been  effected  by 
typhoid  fe\er  around  1896.  His  sister  told  re- 
porters that  It  had  "left  him  a  difiereni  boy." 
and  that  it  had  made  him  "morose  and  melan- 
choly." 

Another  local  physician,  and  probabK  an 
anarchist.  e\alualed  Hemian  and  seconded  his 
family's  recommendations.  Dr  Simon  VL  Dubin 
(1866-1919)  owned  a  house  at  327  Pine  Steet. 
where  he  lived  with  his  family  and  a  few  ten- 
ants. One  of  the  earlier  renters  had  been  Herman 
Helcher  for  some  years,  and  also  Natasha 
Notkin,  a  prominent  anarchist  and  close  friend 
of  Voltairine "s,  lived  there  in  1900.  This  may 
ha\ e  been  where  Emma  Goldman  stayed  dur- 
ing some  of  her  speaking  \  isits  as  well,  since 
she  was  accustomed  to  overnight  with  Notkin. 
A  few  years  after  these  events.  Dubin  was  ac- 
tive in  raising  funds  for  the  Russian  revolution- 
ary cause.  (9) 

Anarchists  all  over  the  counirv  leapt  into 
action  on  behalf  of  their  wounded  friend,  in- 
cluding limma  Goldman,  who  called  for  mate- 
rial aid.  and  Dr.  Hillel  Solotaroff.  who  ap- 
proached another  physician  on  her  behalf  That 
other  doctor  w  as  Samuel  Ciordon  vv  hich  brings 
us  back  again  to  Pine  Street. 

Samuel  II.  Gordon  (1871-1906)  was  not 
only  a  fomicr  anarchist,  but  also  a  former  lover 
of  Vollairine's.  (10)  Their  stomiy.  intense  rela- 
tionship lasted  a  few  years,  but  had  been  over 
for  quite  a  while.    Gordon  was  not  popular 


among  the  other  anarchists,  and  he 
was  regarded  as  shallower  and  less 
intelligent  than  his  companion.  The 
lo\  ers"  chief  source  of  quarrel  was 
her  refusal  to  fall  in  line  with 
Gordon's  wish  for  her  to  be  do- 
mestic and  wife-like.  While  de 
Cleyre  and  Gordon  were  intimately 
involved,  he  enrolled  in  Medico- 
Chirurgical  College  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  she  began  giving  him 
money  from  her  meager  earnings 
to  help  him  through  school.  By  the 
time  of  his  graduation  in  1  K9X. 
Gordon  had  become  disinterested 
both  in  Voltairine  and  the  anarchist 
movement.  In  her  letters  from  the 
few  years  following,  she  describes 
him  as  conceited,  inconsiderate, 
and  getting  rich  and  fat  on  his  nev\ 
profession.  He  .set  up  his  practice 
at  53 1  Pine,  just  four  doors  up  from 
Leo  Gartman. 

Thus,  the  anarchists  who  were 
scrambling  to  save  their  wounded 
comrade  just  before  Christmas  in 
1 902  had  every  right  and  reason  to 
approach  Gordon  for  help,  so  Dr. 
Solotaroff  came  down  from  New 
York  and  asked  him  in  person.  To 
his  surprise.  Gordon  refused  to  give 
help  of  any  kind,  and  w  anted  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  whole  affair. 
Emma  Goldman  and  other  anar- 
chists despised  him  bitterly  for  this. 
Dr.  Gordon  died  of  "acute  gas- 
tritis" less  than  four  years  later, 
after  relocating  to  Newark.  New  Jersey.  Further 
research  is  needed  to  answ  er  the  remaining  ques- 
tions, but  one  cannot  help  but  wonder  v\hether 
the  anarchist  doctors  made  a  medical  practice 
unfeasible  for  "that  dog  Gordon,"  as  Goldman 
would  later  remember  him,  by  shunning  him  in 
their  professional  circles.  (II)  He  had  alienated 
some  of  the  most  proininent  physicians  in  the 
city,  and  several  of  them  lived  and  practiced 
close  by  him  in  the  Jewish  quarter. 

Voltairine  took  years  to  become  active 
again,  and  sutTcred  se\  ere  pain  from  her  u  ounds 
until  her  death.  Dr.  Gartman  took  o\  er  her  medi- 
cal  care  in  early  1906.  and  turned  her  around 

from    her 
lingering 
illness  and 
depression 
u  i  t  li  i  n     a 
f      c       v\ 
111  o  II  t  li  s  . 
-  L      e      o 
Ci  art  111  a  11 
\      e  111  e  r  g  e  d 
!  "  "  as  a  friend 
and    com- 
rade when 
he  posted 
$2,500  bail 
after    her 
arrest  for 
Dr  Leo  Gartmann  (from  obituary)  incitement 


^^^^^r^ 

W^V^.«^i^^^^^^^l 

m^'  "  ^_ 

^_^^^^_^^^^^_ 

^B'-^"'    '-  ^K  ^*i>2 

j^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^k 

^■:i<'-        ^m  ^*i 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 

^H  .  V- '        ^H 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 

■Ly-'^^'A^ 

il^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l 

r^^^H 

W^^^A 

Wttwj'^/A 

Mp.-  .:      ^^^^^H 

^^^^  J  mmM 

W^  ■"^'^-'^'           ^^^^^^^1 

^^M^% 

fw^lr"       ^^^H 

^^K^r     ' 

b^''^^'                 ^^^H 

^^^H^V 

m^''jj'                     ^S^^^M 

Hb  jy^ 

^^^^^^^^H         ^^^  ^J\.' 

^fc*  ■  ,f >/  .                                          ^H 

^^^^^^H 
^^^^^^1 

^K^/^y,^:f-. 

'^^^^1 

^^^p^"^/-i„'..     . 

^^^^i^H 

Votlalrlne  de  Cleyre  in  1901,  courtesy Arden  Archive 

to  riot  in  1908:  a  very  substantial  sum.  in  the 
middle  of  an  economic  depression.  (12) 

Another  anarchist  who  knew  Gordon  and 
who  figures  prominently  in  the  medical  scene 
of  his  time  was  Max  Staller  ( 1868-1919)  who. 
along  w  ith  his  longtime  comrade  Leo  Ciartman. 
established  the  Mt  Sinai  Dispeiisar\  at  236  Pine 
Street  in  1 900.  This  clinic  tilled  the  need  for  free 
or  cheap  health  care  for  the  thousands  of  poor 
Jewish  factory  workers  living  nearby.  Gartman 
served  as  its  first  treasurer.  Staller  as  its  first 
president.  In  later  years,  as  the  dispensary 
evolved  into  a  hospital.  Staller  stayed  on  to  ad- 
ministrate. He  also  played  a  leading  role  in  or- 
ganizing the  Jewish  Consumptive  institute  and 
the  local  Branch  of  the  County  Medical  Soci- 
ety, both  in  1910.  After  returning  from  Chicago 
with  his  medical  degree  in  1895.  Staller  and  his 
wife  were  active  in  staging  amateur  Yiddish 
plays  with  a  group  they  called  the  Star  Specialty 
Club.  Harlier  still.  Staller  was  a  leader  of  the 
Knights  of  Liberty,  the  Jewish  anarchist  &  athe- 
ist group  which  had  counterparts  in  other  U.S. 
cities  from  1889-1893.  Staller  served  as  the 
manager  of  a  successful  strike  by  the  ladies" 
cloak  makers  in  1890.  and  was  arrested  on  one 
occasion  while  trying  to  av  oid  the  police  by  llee- 
ing  through  a  window  to  the  fire  escape.  He 
was  charged  with  making  an  incendiary  speech 
and  inciting  the  audience  to  riot,  but  he  denied 
hav  iiig  done  this  and  was  acquitted.  (13) 

Gartman  and  Staller.  in  spite  of  their  promi- 


nence, large  families,  and  mate- 
rial success,  remained  conspicu- 
ously modest  when  they  died. 
Both  men  lie  buried  at  the 
Montefiore  Cemetery'  in  suburban 
Jenkintown.  and  neither  have  a 
marker  on  their  grave.  One  can 
safely  guess  that  there  were  ex- 
plicit wishes  to  that  end  in  both 
cases,  since  otherwise  the  rela- 
tives would  hav  e  had  not  the  least 
trouble  in  buying  simple  tomb- 
stones, or  even  large,  beautiful 
monuments. 

.^side  from  the  doctors, 
there  were  several  phannacists  on 
the  anarchist  scene  in  Philadel- 
phia, who  had  an  impact  on  the 
iiiov  ement  that  derived,  in  large 
part,  from  their  profession. 

Jacob  L.  JotTe  was  involved 
in  the  anarchist  inovement  at  least 
as  early  as  1 90 1 ,  when  Voltairine 
de  Cleyre  mentions  in  a  letter  to 
her  mother  that  her  friend.  Esther 
Berman,  was  learning  the  phar- 
macy craft  in  the  shop  owned  by 
another  friend.  Berman  seems  to 
he  the  same  person  as  Esther 
Wolfe,  who  in  1905  became  a 
partner  in  the  JotTe  &  Wolfe  drug 
store  at  701  South  3rd  Street. 

Another  young  woman  to 
learn  the  profession  through  an 
apprenticeship  with  Joffe  was 
Natasha  Notkin.  a  Russian-Jew- 
ish nihilist  who  came  to  the  US 
in  1 885.  at  age  fifteen.  Although  no  known  pho- 
tograph of  Notkin  survives,  there  are  many  re- 
ports of  her.  all  through  the  years  from  around 
1890  until  1917.  As  a  member  of  the  Knights 
of  Liberty,  she  took  part  in  organizing  the  Yom 
Kippur  Balls,  a  short-lived  effort  to  draw  work- 
ing-class Jews  away  from  religion  by  arranging 
social  events  during  the  high  holidays.  When 
two  of  her  comrades  stood  trial  for  incitement 
to  riot  in  1891  afterameeting  was  raided  on  the 
night  before  one  of  the  balls.  Natasha  w  as  called 
as  a  witness  for  the  defense.  Some  four  decades 
later,  her  court  appearance  was  recalled  by  a 
comrade.  She  was  drop-dead  beautifial,  and 
wearing  her  hair  bobbed,  as  was  the  habit  of  dis- 
sident Russian  women  of  the  time.  ( 14)  Both 
before  and  after  opening  a  drug  store  with  jotTe 
in  1907.  she  was  the  Philadelphia  distributor  of 
the  anarchist  papers  Free  Society  and  Mother 
earth. 

A  few  years  later,  she  founded  the  Ladies" 
Liberal  League  (LLL)  along  with  Pcrle  McLeod. 
a  Scottish  anarchist  who  may  have  received 
training  as  a  nurse  in  later  years,  Mary  Hansen, 
who  originally  came  from  Denmark,  and 
Voltairine  de  Cleyre. 

The  LLL  was  a  secular  venue  for  public 
lectures  on  a  wide  range  of  social  topics,  and 
medical  doctors,  both  male  and  female,  figured 
prominently  on  the  speakers"  list.  The  venue 
seems  to  have  been  a  means  by  which  radical 
physicians  aired  their  views  to  the  public.  The 


non-arMichist  guest  speakers  from  nearby  insti- 
tutions included  Dr   Henrietta  Payne- 
(continued  from  p  69) 

Wcstbrook,  a  local  practitioner  and  author  who 
advocated  marriage;  Dr.  Frances  l:mil)  White, 
the  poet  and  medical  education  reformer  from 
Women's  medical  College,  and  Dr  Michael  Val- 
entine Ball  from  the  State  penitentiary  who 
spoke  against  current  beliefs  on  criminology,  and 
with  whom  Leo  (iartman  co-authored  a  short 
medical  article  in  1897. 

Finally,  George  S.  Seldes  Sr.  ran  a  phar- 
macy at  946  So.  5th  Street  from  1899  to  1906. 
A  Russian  immigrant  and  an  intellectual  of  high 
repute,  he  corresponded  w  ith  l.eo  Tolstoy  and 
Peter  Kropotkin  on  the  subject  of  pacifism.  Poor 
George  came  home  one  frosty  day  to  discover 
that  all  their  letters  had  been  used  by  the  clean- 
ing lady  to  get  the  tire  started  in  his  wood  stove. 

The  anarchist  professionals  of  old  Phila- 
delphia demonstrated  that  the  movement  had 
attracted  the  brightest  and  most  accomplished 
people  in  the  city.  Their  participation  brought 
the  scene  to  a  high  pitch  and  beauty  that  was 
remembered  with  longing  for  many  decades 
thereafter,    if 


tndnolcs 

1 )  Rcitinan  graduated  from  the  College  of  Physieians  &  Sur- 
geons at  Chicago  on  May  17.  1904.  barely  passing  his  ex- 
ams. He  did  much  to  educate  transients  and  the  public  about 
venereal  disease  and  other  social  causes.  See  Roger  A  Bnins. 
The  Damndest  Radical.  (Chicago.  19X7). 
2 1  lor  example.  V'oltairine  de  Cleyre  detested  Reitman's  ten- 
dency to  drink  (somelmies  with  money  derived  from  the 
movement).  Both  she  and  1  mma  Goldman  were  displeased 
by  his  much-publici/ed  race  through  downtown  Philadelphia 
in  the  fall  of  1909.  Alexander  Berkman  found  huii  "politi- 
cally and  socially  confused." 

3)  Maryson  ( 1X66-1941 )  was  a  frequent  contributor  (some- 
times as  "F  A  I  rank ')  and  editor  in  the  Yiddish  anarchist 
press,  and  he  translated  many  anarchist  texts  into  that  lan- 
guage. He  authored  books  including  The  Theory  and  Prac- 
tice of  Anarchism  ( 1 927 ).  SoIolarotT  (I  X65- 1 92 1')  and  C  ohn 
( 1X69-1939)  were  just  as  active  and  prolific. 

4)  ,\ll  of  the  existing  discussions  of  these  Philadelphia  doc- 
tors and  pharmacists,  considered  as  such,  would  take  up  no 
more  than  a  page  of  text  Many,  however,  arc  mentioned  m 
Paul  .Avrich.  An  .American  .Anarchist:  The  Life  of  Voltairine 
de  Cleyre  (Princeton.  I97X).  It  was.  in  fact,  by  reading  that 
book  thai  I  became  interested  in  the  present  topic 

5)  There  is  a  name  confusion  between  David  A.  Modell  and 
his  relative.  i)r  Daniel  A  Modell.  who  died  in  1932.  They 
lived  at  the  same  address  for  many  years  of  this  period;  Daniel 
became  an  M  D  in  1X93.  whereas  David  appears  in  the  city 
directory  as  a  student  in  1900  and  as  a  teacher  in  1903  David 
was  certainly  a  very  active  anarchist,  writing  and  translating 
movement  material  Daniel's  anarchism  is  less  clear:  he  wa.s 
treasurer  of  the  Socialist  literary  Society  in  1914  (which  had 
anarchist  members),  but  further  research  is  needed  on  this 
obscure  physician  See  Av  rich.  ,\n  .American  Anarchist,  etc 
p.  130.  where  the  two  are  (incorrectly)  merged  into  David 

6)  See  David  B  Tierkel.  The  Juvenile  Slage:  a  history  of  the 
hebrew- Yiddish  dramatic  Societies.  1X90-1940.  p.  31.  1  am 
indebted  to  Mr   Harry  Boonin  for  leads  on  Gartman  the  actor. 

7)  Phone  inlerv  levv  v^  ith  Nancy  Silberstein  (granddaughter  of 
LeoGarlinan).  June  25.  2000 

8)  Interview  with  Naomi  (iartman  Bregslein  by  her  nieces 
Nancy  Silberstein  and  Judy  Nicholas,  Nov  4,  1991 ;  obituar- 
ies in  Philadelphia  Hvening  Bulletin.  Philadelphia  Public 
Ledger,  and  Jewish  World.  3  3 1  1930. 

9)  Kree  Society.  March  X.  1903;  Cioldman,  Living  My  Life, 
p  196:  Federal  Census  Records.  1900;  Philadelphia  Inquirer. 
October  16.  1919 

10)  He  IS  not  to  be  confused  with  another  Dr.  Samuel  Ciordon 
who  earned  his  degree  in  Philadelphia  in  1906.  Gordon  and 
de  Clevre  once  utieinpted  suicide  together  1 1 )  Living  My 
Life,  p'  332 

12)  Philadelphia  I  vcning  Bullclin  Feb.  22.  I90K 

13)  Philadelphia  Public  Ledger.  Augusts.  IS90  Mrs  Slallcr 
also  sang  at  the  ^th  annual  Russian  lea  Party,  an  anarchist 
fundraiser  ball,  on  March  1.  19(11  See  also  Boonin.  Phc 
Jewish  Ouarter  of  Philadelphia:  a  history  and  guide.  IXXI- 
1930  Philadelphia.  1999 

14)  Sec  Chaim  1  icb  Weinberg.  Forty  Years  in  Ihc  Struggle  for 
SiKial   Liberation  (Philadelphia.  1952).  p  44 


O 


CO 


o 


Monozine  #7 

Monoziiie  is  never  boring.  You  would 
think  that  seven  issues  all  on  the  same  (heme 
would  get  boring  alter  awhile,  but  it  never  does. 
Why?  Because  Todd  prints  lots  of  stories  about 
vomit  and  poop. 

Being  the  sophisticated  reader  that  I  am, 
I  was  wary  the  first  time  that  1  read  Monozine, 
the  /ine  all  about  being  sick  1  clearly  remember 
assuring  myself  that  i  would  not  think  that  bath- 
room humor  was  funny,  but  there  1  was.  actually 
laughing  out  loud  to  stories  about  people  shitting 
ihcinselvcs  and  projcxtile  vomiting. 

The  beauty  of  Monozine  is  that  each  story 
IS  told  in  a  first-person,  narrative  style  and  is 
completely  unedited.  Despite  some  very  bad 
graminar  and  spelling,  this  makes  each  story  f»ersonal  and  engaging.  Imagine  a  bunch 
ofpeoplc  silting  around  trving  to  gross  each  other  out  w  iih  their  worst  stories  of  being 
sick.  But  it's  not  only  illness,  it's  tape  worms,  dead  bodies  in  the  garage,  and  cock- 
roaches in  your  ear  canal. 

Even  though  most  o(  \tono:ini'  is  humor,  here  and  there  you  w  ill  llnd  an  intense 
story  about  a  life-threatening  illness  or  trauma.  This  new  issue  features  a  story  about  a 
rape  that  resulted  in  years  of  psychosomatic  illness.  This  personal  narrative  reveals  a 
story  that  could  never  be  told  through  a  mediator 

This  thick  /ine  has  much  insight  into  our  lives  and  reveals  our  fascination  vvilh 
other  people's  pain  and  misfortune.  Todd  Lesser  offers  humor,  insight,  and  enlcrtain- 
meni-und  of  course,  lots  of  stories  that  will  leave  you  squimiing  in  your  chair, 
-jen  angel 

S4  ppil  in  the  US 

PO  Box  .5'>8  reisierstown,  md  21 136 

ftill  size,  68  pgs.  color  cover 


Why  I  do  not  care  for  u 


(0 


by  Pete  Lewis 


I 


This  is  a  story  about  how  I  threw 
a  friend  out  of  my  warm  house  onto  the 

cold  streets,  a  story  about  how  I  turned  down  the 
cliance  to  say  that  at  least  I  helped  that  friend  out  one 
night.  At  least  I  gave  a  homeless  non-stranger  a  bed 
for  the  night.  At  least  I  saved  him  from  a  beating.  At 
least  I  saved  him  from  another  night  in  jail.  At  least  1 
was  practicing  what  1  preach  just  once.  But  I  turned 
him  away.  I  wrestled  with  what  there  was  of  my  con- 
science and  I  still  could  not  let  him  stay. 

First,  Me. 

I  still  remember  how  1  became  an  atheist  at  about 
10  or  11 .  A  bald  Welsh  headmaster  used  to  read  Bible 
stories  before  classes  three  times  a  week.  In  particular. 
I  can  remember  him  spitting  out  some  story  about  the 
good  Samaritan  and  that  it  was  more  interesting  to  mc 
to  watch  his  spit  spray  the  younger  kids  in  the  front 
row.  1  also  remember  thinking  this  bloke  does  not  sound 
very  Welsh.  You  see.  he  thought  he  and  I  had  some- 
thing in  common.  We  were  two  Welsh  Christians  liv- 
ing in  the  predominately  islamic  Bahrain.  He  used  to 
quote  Welsh  poetry  and  verse  to  me.  I  didn't  care  for 
being  Welsh.  It  meant  nothing  to  me.  Dylan  Thomas  - 
didn't  know  him,  didn't  want  to. 

This  headmaster  used  to  say  "Oh  Captain,  my 
captain  . . ."  when  we  crossed  paths  in  the  hall.  He  used 
to  tell  mc  the  rugby  results  after  Wales  was  crushed 
yet  again  by  some  far  more  glorious  nation.  He  often 
related  his  Bible  stories  to  Wales  and  with  those  refer- 


ences he  would  often  add.  "Ask  Pete.  He  will  understand."  Wrong.  Wales 
meant  nothing  to  me  and  God  meant  less  than  nothing. 
By  the  age  of  13,  I  began  to  feel  guilty  about  not  being  a  good  Christian. 
Even  so,  in  front  of  my  friends  I  would  declare  that  Jesus  was  a  wanker 
Then  1  would  go  home  and  say  a  little  prayer  and  follow  it  with  what  I 
could  remember  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  before  I  went  to  sleep  after  a  day  of 
blasphemous  shov\  ing  off  1  might  also  pray  after  1  got  my  self  all  worked 
up  about  what  happens  after  death,  shitting  myself  about  the  concept  of 
eternity  and  shitting  myself  even  more  with  the  idea  that  I  might  cease  to 
exist  one  day.  E\  en  this  little  \  oicc  in  my  head  will  cease  to  exist.  Shitting 
myself  about  the  absolute  nothingness.  That's  when  1  might  pray  and  prom- 
ise to  be  a  good  Samaritan.  The  next  day  1  would  go  back  to  being  an 
atheist.  A  daylight  atheist.  But  it  was  a  start. 

This  headmaster  didn't  know  that  I  was  Catholic.  He  didn't  know  1 
v\as  the  only  Catholic  in  a  school  full  of  Protestants  back  in  Wales.  He 
didn't  know  how  gutted  I  was  that  1  could  not  be  m  the  same  choir  as  my 
school  friends.  He  didn't  know  that  all  I  wanted  to  be  was  an  atheist  with 
no  nationality.  That  1  tried  and  tired  to  forget  all  that  Bible  nonsense, 
forget  tying  myself  to  one  counti^. 

By  the  time  1  met  Owen,  several  years  later.  1  was  over  it.  I  knew 
who  I  was  and  I  was  comfortable.  I  slept  soundly  all  night  and  walked  the 
streets  with  a  confidence  !  had  never  imagined  possible.  I  considered 
myself  a  whole  and  decent  human  being.  1  believed  1  was  capable  of  true 
compassion.  1  stopped  eating  animals.  1  stopped  supporting  companies 
who  I  felt  exploited  animals,  the  environment  or  workers.  I  became  an 
ethical  consumer  1  did  volunteer  work.  Conservation  work  to  protect  my 
local  beauty  spot.  Teaching  illiterate  teens  and  adults.  1  marched  against 
fascism.  1  campaigned  for  the  environment  and  human  rights.  1  was  so 
bloody  PC  that  1  developed  a  reputation:  He  can  'I  i^o  to  McDonalds,  Pete 
is  with  us.  Don 't  gel  your  petrol  from  Shell  ...  some  shit  about  their  ne- 
}llect  of  the  Oiioni  people  in  Nigeria,  where  they  get  their  oil.  Sony  Pete. 


Consquences:  Beyond  Resisting  Rape 

By  Loolwa  Khazzooin 

"Hey  girls!  Tired  of  harassment?  Wish  you  didn't  take  that  shit?  Ever  feel 
like  punching  out  one  of  those  guys?"  reads  the  advertisement  for  Loolwa 
Khazzoom's  new  book.  Consequence:  Beyond  Resisting  Rape.  It's  a  challenge  and 
an  invitation  to  re-examine  our  attitudes  about  sexual  assault,  and  to  find  creative 
solutions  in  battling  harassment. 

More  than  likely,  you  have  already  read  something  written  by  Loolwa  in  the 
pages  of  clamor.  If  you  are  like  me,  you  were  inspired  and  challenged  by  her 
don't-lake-shit  stance  to  harassment  and  sexual  assault.  Consequence,  then  is  no 
letdown.  The  pages  are  filled  with  stories  recounting  day-to-day  encounters  with 
sexual  assault,  and  more  importantly,  her  calculations  on  how  to  deal  with  this 
harassment. 

A  major  theme  in  Consequence  is  freedom,  how  we  define  freedom  and  how 
it  is  defined  for  us,  and  also  what  it  means  when  we  reclaim  our  lives  as  free 
individuals.  Loolwa  speaks  to  the  daily  experience  of  being  a  woman  in  a  patriar- 
chal society  that  is  horrifyingly  accepting  of  violence  against  women.  She  de- 
scribes numerous  situations  in  which  she  attempts  to  simply  take  up  space,  to  do 
whatever  the  hell  she  wants  to  do,  but  constantly  comes  up  against  men  infringing 
on  her  will,  whether  verbally  or  physically. 

Beyond  Resisting  Rape,  though,  suggests  something  more  than  self-defense. 
Loolwa  asks  what  our  tactics  are  for  dealing  with  (or  not  dealing  \\  ith)  harassment. 
Avoidance,  silence,  and  politeness  are  all  too  common  strategies  ihai  wdinen  choo.se 
when  confronted  by  the  odd  stare,  grope,  or  nasty  commcni  What  she  suggests, 
and  actively  demonstrates  in  her  experience,  is  a  strong  recinmaiion  of  our  space, 
our  sense  of  peace,  our  bodies. 

Loolwa  fights  back,  not  jusi  w  ith  words  but  with  fists.  She  encourages  women 
to  find  whatever  tactics  they  are  comfortable  with,  whether  that  is  hilling,  running, 
yelling,  laughing,  singing,  talking,  or  dancing.  By  "living  in  the  threshold  of  pos- 


sibility," we  have  at  our  disposal  a  variety  of  methods  with  which  to  address 
harassment. 

The  act  of  re-examining  wiiat  our  options  are  for  dealing  with  those  who 
assault  us  is  an  acknowledgement  that  the  daily  shit  that  happens  to  us,  as  women, 
is  unacceptable.  Being  leered  at,  being  afraid  to  walk  alone  at  night,  being  talked 
over  and  talked  down  to,  having  to  explain  to  strange  men  why  being  whistled 
at  is  not  a  complimenl,  being  physically  violated,  etc.,  is  simply  the  daily  expe- 
rience of  a  woman. 

And  Loolwa  says  it's  high  time  we  start  taking  matters  into  our  own  hands. 
Instead  of  "legal  self-defense"  which  calls  for  a  certain  amount  of  violence  to 
already  have  been  achieved,  why  shouldn't  we  rely  on  our  own  judgement  and 
intuition?  We  need  to  set  our  own  limitations  on  what  is  acceptable,  when  it's 
time  to  fight  back  and  what  tactics  we  will  use  to  defend  ourselves. 

"Let's  do  something  that  has  impact,  consequence;  something  that  will 
deter  assault,  something  that  will  turn  the  assaultive  energy  around-  in  the  heat 
of  the  moment-  antl  give  us  power  instead  of  taking  it  from  us...  Assault  against 
women  happens  eveiy  day.  every  hour,  every  minute,  every  second,  multiple 
times  a  day  in  every  woman's  life,  in  many  ditTerent  forms.  None  of  this  assault 
should  be  happening,  period.  And  I  think  it  is  time  to  stop  it.  whatever  it  takes." 

Loolwa  kicks  a  lot  of  ass,  both  on  paper  and  for  real.  It  gives  me  courage 
to  know  not  only  that  there  are  women  out  there  actively  and  creati\  ely  fighting 
back  against  assault,  but  also  that  I  have  the  option  of  doing  the  same. 
-Sarah  Stippich 

$15  ppd  in  the  US 
Pearl  In  a  Million  Press 
2425-B  Channing  Way,  Suite  203 
Berkeley,  CA  94704 


f'm  not  vegan  anymore. 

1  gave  money  to  people  who  asked  for  it  on  the  streets.  I  bought 
homeless  people  food.  And  I  felt  1  was  modest  about  the  whole  thing.  I 
was  thinking.  I'm  deeent.  I'm  doing  what  I  ean.  In  the  words  of  Ian 
MacKaye.  cit  least  I  'm  juckiiig  Hying! 

More  importantly,  none  of  it  had  anything  to  do  with  trying  to  live 
up  to  some  Christian  ideal,  it  was  the  caring  face  of  punk  rock.  It  was 
community  action.  It  was  being  active,  of  course.  None  of  it  was  about 
fear  of  burning  in  hell.  I  lonest  to  Christ  it  wasn't. 

Now,  Owen. 

1  knew  Owen  through  skateboarding.  We  had  absolutely  nothing  in 
cominon  apart  from  our  joy  of  freedoming  around  on  our  little  planks  of 
wood.  I  used  to  offer  him  rides  to  go  skate  at  certain  places  and  he  used 
to  motivate  mc  to  skate  all  the  time.  That  was  it.  Not  really  a  friendship 
as  such.  Outside  of  skateboarding,  we  kept  our  distance  and  mingled  in 
different  crowds.  This  was  how  it  was  for  a  couple  of  years. 

I  enjoyed  his  company  but  I  never  really  felt  the  urge  to  force  our 
relationship  past  that  of  occasional  skateboarding  partners,  mainly  be- 
cause he  liked  to  talk  v\  ithout  listening.  He  had  a  tendency  to  brag  about 
his  achievements  and  plans  in  life.  As  far  as  he  was  concerned,  he  was 
going  to  become  a  professional  skateboarder  and  then  start  up  his  own 
company.  He  talked  about  leaving  Wales  for  San  Francisco  to  be  a  skate 
superstar.  He  was  also  studying  media  at  college  and  had  grand  aspira- 
tions in  that  field  as  well.  Essentially,  he  was  an  e.\pei1  in  anything  he 
became  invoKed  with  in  the  slightest  way  and  he  was  not  afraid  to  ad- 
vertise it.  It  became  impossible  for  anyone  to  challenge  him.  He  was 
who  he  said  he  was  and  you  couldn't  tell  him  ditTerent. 

Thus,  people  always  kept  their  distance.  They  would  tolerate  him 
but  never  otTer  him  friendship.  To  make  the  situation  worse,  he  assumed 
everyone  was  his  best  friend  and  he  could  count  on  them  for  anything 
and  vice  versa.  None  of  this  is  out  of  the  ordinary;  everyone  has  encoun- 
tered such  people  while  growing  up.  Some  grow  up  and  team  the  virtue 
of  humility  but  others  carry  on  living  under  the  illusion  of  greatness.  I 
think  Owen  was  just  after  acceptance.  He  was  tired  of  being  rejected  by 
his  peers  and  his  abusive  and  unstable  family. 


However,  at  this  point  he  didn't  ha\  e  to  worry  about  having  a  roof 
over  his  head  or  where  his  next  meal  was  coming  from.  At  18.  his  par- 
ents ga\  e  him  a  car.  Unlike  the  United  States,  the  vast  majority  of  young 
people  do  not  own  cars  in  Wales,  so  Owen's  car  ofTered  him  some  new 
found  popularity.  Of  course  he  revelled  in  it.  He  would  drive  people 
everywhere  and  anywhere  because  it  meant  they  needed  him  for  some- 
thing. 

At  the  same  time,  Owen  discovered  drinking  and  drugs.  Again,  this  is 
nothing  out  of  the  ordinary.  He  started  off  with  the  occasional  binge  of 
booze  and  pot.  His  use  became  more  frequent  and  he  started  dealing  pot 
to  fund  his  own  use.  At  first  he  only  dealt  to  friends  but  he  soon  realised 
that,  just  like  a  car.  drugs  provide  people  w  ith  more  and  more  friends. 
Owen  soon  began  using  daigs  on  a  daily  basis.  For  a  couple  of  months 
that  autumn,  he  started  each  day  with  a  potent  magic  mushroom  brew 
and  spent  the  rest  of  the  day  drinking  vodka  which  led  to  a  drastic  per- 
sonality change. 

Owen  soon  sold  all  his  belongings  and  ga\e  most  of  his  mones 
away  because  materialism  and  consumerism  were  e\  il.  He  w alked  around 
town  blessing  people  and  exorcising  their  demons.  The  town  centre  was 
his  garden  and  he  made  sure  it  was  kept  clean  and  pure.  Other  days  he 
would  stop  buses  to  demonstrate  how  much  power  he  had.  He  would 
sinipK  walk  into  the  road  and  raise  his  hands.  Then  he  might  shout  at  a 
couple  of  girls  and  call  them  a  couple  of  pigs  and  then  go  on  to  lecture 
about  being  peaceful  and  tolerant.  I  used  to  see  him  w  alking  around  the 
city  centre  in  the  middle  of  w  inter  w  earing  nothing  but  a  skirt  (?  Unclear 
sentence  and  context).  Barefoot  and  bare  chest,  arms  reaching  for  the 
heavens,  ghetto-blaster  in  one  hand,  skateboard  in  the  other,  screaming 
at  any  one  who  took  a  second  look  him.  He  continued  eating  magic 
mushrooms  every  day. 

At  one  point,  his  parents  went  on  holiday  and  he  proceeded  to  empty 
their  house  of  all  negatix  e  energy.  The  tele\  ision.  the  \'CR.  and  the  \  ideo 
camera  among  other  items  ended  up  in  the  back  garden.  He  began  to 
pick  up  litter  and  clean  the  streets.  When  his  mother  questioned  this,  he 
tried  to  explain  how  e\er\ thing  he  was  doing  was  battling  the  three  de- 
mons. The  blessing,  the  purifying,  the  cleaning.  destro\ing  material 
goods,  denouncing  material  possessions.  So  his  mother  kicked  him  out. 


lovesick 
Sell-Tilled  LP 


1^ 


t.  Lovesick  is  three  people  from  Miehigan.  making 

music  that  Ihcy  love,  rooted  in  the  community  they 
.V  "L  love.  After  a  lew  other  releases,  this  is  their  first 

m.  •'i/'  t'ull-lenglh  LP.  on  Chicago  label  All  Please  Sound. 

■N  ^r  I  can'l  really  describe  the  music  because  Lni  not 

W.f  so  good  ai  thai.    I  can't  compare  them  to  oilier 

/  bands  jiecause  there's  no  handy  point  of  reference. 

I  can  lell  you  that  there  is  guitar,  bass,  drums  and 
singing  on  this  record,  il's  mostly  loud  aiid  last, 
yet  always  melodic.  The  music  and  singing  is  obviously  heartfelt.  It's  emotional 
but  I  wouldn't  call  it  cmo.  It's  based  in  punk/hardcore  but  I  don't  know  if  I'd  call  it 
punk  rock.  Musically,  they  don't  sound  like  your  average  band,  and  there's  a  level 
of  honesty  to  them  that  I  find  lacking  in  most  bands.  The  music  is  unique, 
invigorating,  and  challenging,  and  It  all  comes  together  around  thoughtful  lyrics 
and  singing  that  is  more  involved  than  the  usual  blah  blah  mouthpiece  blatherings. 
This  record  is  a  document  of  a  band  that  has  been  making  music  together  long 
enough  to  really  gel.  and  it's  certainly  the  Ivsi  recording  of  them  to  dale. 

What  I  can  say  is  that  I  know  how  much  this  hand's  music  and  words  mean  to 
mc  and  a  lot  of  other  people.  I  know  ihai  they  completely  belies  e  in  what  the)  are 
doing,  and  are  a  shining  example  of  how  to  inake  music  in  the  DIY  scene,  as  well  as 
how  to  use  a  band  as  a  tool  lor  opening  communication  between  people;  how  to 
create  and  cultivate  community  through  perfonnances  and  recordings.  And  they're 
simply  just  good  at  what  they  do.  they  luckmg  r(Kk.  Tliis  is  music  thai  I  don't  only 
enjoy  listening  to,  that  nol  only  makes  me  shake  my  ass.  Il  coitiplelely  inspires  mc 
as  well. 
-  John  Gerkcn 

$8p(xJ  in  the  CS  fronv. 
All  Please  Sound 
K)  Box  47772 
Chicago,  IL  h()W7 


TJieintima 

No  I  ullaby  For  Sleep  CDEP 

There  are  so  many  good  things  to  say  abtiui  this 
band  that  it  made  writing  this  review  a  bit 
Jaunting.  In  addition  lo  being  ama/.ing 
mdixiduals.  they  make  some  beautiful  music 
together.  How  do  you  sumnnirizc  a  general  vibe 
that  you  gel  when  you  meet  fourdilTereni  (vople 
\\ ho  each,  in  their  own  way.  holds  the  piUenlial 
lo  inspire  and  excite?  You  don't,  really.  So  we'll 
stick  \Mlh  the  release  lor  the  lime  being.  Themba.  .Andrew  and  .Alex  play  the 
traditional  rock  strings  and  drums  while  Nora  fills  out  the  sound  with  her  violin. 
Their  sound  can  go  from  minimalist,  repetitive  rhythms  and  rifTs  to  inore  fren/ied 
moments  that  make  you  wonder  what  holds  it  all  together. 

The  power  and  Ix'auty  of  the  music  might  cause  you  lo  overloiik  it  on  the 
first  listen,  but  the  lyrics  are  all  pi>litical  and  deserx  e  recognition  as  being  politically 
charged  without  bludgeoning  the  listener  with  rhetoric.  One  song  slans  olTwilh 
Andrew  singing  an  inspiring  quote  from  Emma  Goldma.  "To  the  daring,  tielongs 
the  future"  repeatedly,  and  il's  only  days  later  ihal  you  realize  you've  had  it  stuck 
in  your  head  and  inspiring  your  actions.  Thousands  of  progressive  thinkers  spend 
their  entire  lives  trying  lo  figure  out  how  to  make  politics  accessible.  Il's  ea.sy: 
make  sure  there  is  a  great  .soundtrack.  Make  people  dance.  bt)b  their  heads  or  tap 
their  toes  and  their  hearts  and  minds  arc  yours.  The  Iniinia  do  just  ihat.  and  then 
some. 
-  Jason  kucsina 

$6  ppd  in  the  US  from: 
Zum  Records 
PO  Box  4449 
Berkeley.  CA  '>47()4 
www./umonline.com 


I  tried  to  reason  with  him.  I  tried  to  tell  him  that  if  he  wanted  help  from 
people  he  could  not  go  around  proclaimmg  he  was  Jesus.  "But  why?  Who 
the  fuck  are  they  to  say  I'm  not  Jesus?  lam  and  that  is  that.  It's  a  fact.  You 
can  deny  it,  Pete,  but  you  would  be  wrong.  You  can't  tell  me  that  I'm  not 
Jesus." 


He  told  me,  as  he  laughed  hysterically,  "I  offered  my  mother  love  and 
she  repays  me  with  this."'  Looking  back,  I  am  in  no  position  to  question 
his  parents,  but  they  could  not  ha\  e  cut  Owen  off  at  a  worse  time.  He 
was  19. 

One  day,  Owen  left  a  trail  of  destruction  through  the  town  centre.  I 
don't  know  all  the  details,  but  it  had  something  to  do  with  buying  an 
apple.  Even  though  he  drank  a  bottle  of  vodka  before  1 1  a.m.  that  day. 
he  still  believed  in  the  positive  energy  and  goodness  of  fruit.  He  had  no 
money  on  him  and  tried  to  convince  the  shopkeeper  that  he  would  be 
back  with  the  money  later  The  shopkeeper  obviously  refused.  Owen 
then  said  he  would  pay  one  hundred  pounds  for  the  apple  if  only  he 
could  pay  for  it  later  As  he  later  asked  me,  "Who  would  refuse  one 
hundred  quid  for  an  apple?" 

After  multiple  refusals,  Owen  left  the  shop  and  Iea\  e  a  trail  of  may- 
hem behind  him.  He  scared  and  insulted  people  and  someone  called  the 
police.  They  found  him  bathing  his  wounds  in  a  water  fountain  at  the 
centre  of  the  city.  Clothed  in  only  his  underwear,  he  was  trying  to  wash 
away  the  impurities  with  the  icy  water  on  a  cold  February  day. 

While  all  this  was  going  on,  he  was  looking  for  places  to  sleep 
every  night.  At  first  this  wasn't  too  difficult.  He  stayed  with  one  friend 
for  a  couple  of  nights 
and  then  moved  to  an- 
other He  began  to  stay 
with  students  who 
rarely  objected  when  he 
came  along  with  booze 
and  drugs.  But  when 
they  were  at  college  or 
his  friends  were  at 
work,  he  rearranged 
their  houses  to  emit  bet- 
ter energy  and  emptied 
their  refrigerators  of  bad  food. 

The  nights  on  the  street  became  more  frequent.  The  drugs  became 
harder  The  beatings  became  more  severe.  The  police  became  less  un- 
derstanding and  so  did  everyone  else.  His  relatives  and  friends  told  him 
uhcrc  to  get  off  They  tried  to  show  him  the  ills  of  his  ways,  that  he  had 
no  power  and  there  were  no  demons  to  fight.  No  one  wanted  to  hear 
about  the  spiderwebs  and  demons.  No  one  wanted  to  hear  why  he  was 
convinced  he  was  the  sun  child.  No  one  would  listen  when  he  told  them 
he  was  blessed.  And  he  knew  they  were  all  wrong.  He  was  the  only  one 
who  knew  the  truth. 

Who  the  hell  v\ere  they  to  tell  hnn  he  was  wrong?  He  was  blessed. 
But  what  you  get  for  being  blessed  is  life  on  the  streets.  Being  cut  off 
from  your  past  life.  People  walking  a  wide  path  around  you.  Loneliness 
and  isolation.  The  longer  Owen  spent  on  the  streets,  the  deeper  he  went 
into  his  own  impenetrable  world.  Soon  he  con\  inccd  himself  he  was 
Jesus. 

Owen  and  I. 

Durmg  this  time.  Owen  occasionally  came  to  my  house.  1  li\ed 
alone  in  my  parents"  place  while  they  lived  overseas.  It  was  dry.  wami 
and  homey.  I  was  far  from  wealthy  but  at  least  I  had  a  solid  roof  o\  er  my 
head.  Owen  would  come  over  and  I  would  offer  him  a  peanut  butter 
sandwich.  I  remember  being  pissed  off  that  he  scooped  about  a  quarter 
of  the  jar  of  peanut  butter  into  each  sandwich.  He  always  asked  for  a 
pair  of  socks.  And  that  was  the  routine.  He  came  over  and  we  chatted 
about  his  arrest  or  beating.  The  last  fight  he  had  with  his  parents.  The 
last  time  he  was  the  sun  child.  Then  he  would  have  a  sandwich,  put  on 
my  socks  and  leave. 

One  day,  Owen  came  over  and  seemed  unusually  calm  and  col- 
lected. We  conversed  in  a  respectable  manner  about  irrelevant  goings 
on.  I  think  he  was  trying  to  prove  his  sanity  to  me.  The  act  didn't  last 
long.  Owen  made  himself  comfortable  on  the  settee,  stretched  out  and 
began  to  snooze. 

"Look  mate,  you  can't  sleep  here,"  I  said,  as  friendly  as  I  could 
sound. 


No  reply. 

"Owen.  man.  I'm  on  delicate  ground  here.  It's  not  my  house  and  I 
nearly  got  kicked  out  myself  last  month."  This  was  true,  but  that  is  defi- 
nitely a  story  for  another  time. 

"Please  ...  just  for  one  night.  I'll  sleep  down  here  and  I'll  be  out 
first  thing  in  the  morning." 
"No  I'm  sorry  ...  I  ..." 

Silence.  While  1  try  to  recap  how  things  went.  Let  me  just  restate 
that  I  li\  ed  in  that  house  alone.  Plenty  of  room  for  a  guest  for  one  night. 
It  v\  as  warm  and  comfortable  and  no  one  would  ever  know  that  he  stayed 
over  one  measly  night.  But  I  had  heard  the  stories  and  feared  for  the 
television,  the  video,  the  ornaments.  I  feared  he  would  clear  out  all  my 
food.  All  my  peanut  butter 

"...  I  just  can't  let  you  stay." 

He  was  visibly  disappointed.  "Well  can  I  use  your  phone  then,  so  I 
can  find  a  place  to  crash  tonight?" 
"Of  course.  Go  ahead." 

So  Owen  phones  a  few  friends,  but  none  of  these  people  are  in  the 
mood  to  have  their  houses  re-arranged,  blessed  or  exorcised.  Owen  keeps 
phoning  every  nuinber  he  can  remember  Eventually,  he  resorted  to  call- 
ing his  family.  An  uncle 
pretends  to  be  glad  to 
hear  from  him  but  after 
a  lengthy  conversation 
is  unprepared  to  come 
and  pick  his  nephew  up 
and  offer  him  a  place  to 
stay. 

As  more  people  re- 
ject Owen,  he  has  more 
difficulty  pretending 
that  he  is  a  calm  and 
collected  person.  We  can  all  play  the  fool.  It's  easy  to  pretend  we  are 
being  chased  by  demons  or  pretend  that  you  are  the  sun  child,  but  what 
if  you're  convinced  you're  the  sun  child  and  you're  pretending  to  be 
what  everyone  else  sees  as  normal?  That  must  be  difficult  and  I  could 
see  that  Owen  was  retreating  back  into  his  ov\n  world.  He  eventually 
called  his  parents,  who  at  this  stage  had  nuncd  hundreds  of  miles  away. 
The  phone  call  did  not  go  as  he  planned  and  it  ended  w  ith  him  in  tears. 

Enter  Jesus  Christ. 

Owen  started  to  tell  ine  that  he  was  Jesus  Christ.  The  saviour  of 
mankind.  He  was  going  to  save  everybody.  I  tried  to  reason  with  him.  I 
tried  to  tell  him  that  if  he  wanted  help  from  people  he  could  not  go 
around  proclaiming  he  was  Jesus.  "But  why?  Who  the  fuck  are  they  to 
say  I'm  not  Jesus'  I  am  and  that  is  that.  It's  a  fact.  You  can  deny  it.  Pete, 
but  you  would  be  wrong.  You  can't  tell  me  that  I'm  not  Jesus." 
He  had  a  point.  How  could  I  say  he  was  not  Jesus?  Here  was  a  young 
man  w  ho  was  at  his  wits'  end.  He  had  been  through  some  shit.  Maybe  he 
brought  it  upon  himself  but  that  wasn't  for  me  to  judge.  At  that  moment. 
1  had  a  desperate  person  w  ithout  a  friend  in  the  world  in  front  of  me.  No 
place  to  sleep.  No  food  to  eat.  He  is  Jesus  Christ.  We  are  alone  in  my 
house.  Me  and  him.  No  one  around  to  hear  our  conversation.  No  one  for 
me  to  discuss  Owen's  phone  calls  with.  No  outside  opinion  to  discuss 
how  to  handle  the  situation.  Just  Owen  and  myself  Just  me  and  Jesus. 
The  saviour  himself  And  he  is  ready  to  save  mankind,  if  only  someone 
would  help  him  first.  If  someone  could  just  take  that  first  step. 

Owen  started  to  take  his  clothes  off  and  pray.  Nearly  naked,  he 
knelt  in  front  of  the  hallway  mirror  and  prayed,  rocking  back  and  forth 
in  desperation.  Tears  and  muffied  crying  underneath  his  secret  prayers.  I 
couldn't  stop  him.  Who  was  1  to  stop  hiin? 

I  called  the  number  he  called  last;  his  father. 

"I  have  your  son  here.  He's  desperate.  He  has  nowhere  to  go.  What 
do  I  do?  Of  course  it's  your  fucking  business,  he's  your  son.  I  know  he's 
done  drugs  ...  Yeah  I  know  he  wrecked  your  house  but  what  about  now? 
...  Now.  right  now!  He  says  he's  Jesus,  he's  naked,  alone  and  in  my 
house.  He  can't  stay  ...  What  do  you  mean  it's  my  problem?"  He's  your 


[people] 


(continued  from  p.  73) 

fucking  son.  mate!" 

His  father  had  had  enough.  He  said  there  was  no  more  he  could  do  until 

(3wen  started  to  help  himself  Owen  o\  erhcard  my  phone  call  and  bolted 

out  the  front  door. 

I  shouted  after  hnn.  "If  you  can't  fmd  anywhere  else,  come  back." 

"Yeah,  whatever,  I'll  be  all  right."  he  replied. 

Pathetic.  Til  help  you  if  nobody  else  does.  If  there's  no  one  else, 
come  back  and  count  on  me.  So  I  booted  Jesus  out  on  his  ear  into  the 
cold  dark  night.  He  was  arrested  and  spent  a  couple  of  days  in  a  cell.  He 
later  told  me  it  was  the  best  thing  that  could  have  happened.  At  least  it 
was  a  bed  and  food  for  a  day  or  two. 

After  he  left,  I  called  a  help  line  named  the  Samaritans  for  adv  ice. 
What  could  I  do  for  C)w  en?  Hov\  could  I  convince  him  to  get  help?  1  low 
do  you  get  someone  committed,  if  you  think  they  arc  a  danger  to  them- 
selves and  others?  I  called  the  Samaritans  because  of  my  failure  to  be 
one. 

1  spoke  to  the  good  Samaritan  and  he  said  all  he  could  do  was  help 
me  because  I  was  the  one  who  phoned  and  asked  for  help.  I  was  the 
Samaritan's  only  concern  because  Owen  didn't  make  the  call.  He  was 
out  of  reach. 

It  is  easy  to  say  now  that  Owen  was  never  really  all  that  stable  and 
his  parents  were  far  from  supportive.  He  was  experiencing  difficulties  at 
college  and  finding  a  job.  To  make  inatters  worse,  he  discovered  alcohol 
and  dnigs  when  he  was  trying  to  find  out  who  he  was  and  assert  his 


identity  .  And  nobody  else  wanted  to  know.  These  are  things  that  most 
people  go  through.  Most  of  us  pull  through  it  but  Owen  was  unable  to 
do  so.  Was  that  his  own  fault? 


Afterward. 

I  told  people  who  knew  Owen  about  what  had  happened.  Most 
told  me  that  1  did  the  right  thing,  that  he  was  a  nutter,  a  psycho,  a 
lunatic  and  a  junkie.  The  more  people  told  me  1  did  the  right  thing,  the 
more  terrible  1  felt.  I  became  increasingly  angry  at  such  ignorant  com- 
ments about  Owen.  No  one  wanted  to  look  into  w  hy  he  sank  to  such  a 
level.  All  they  knew  was  that  he  talked  nonsense,  was  frequently  ar- 
rested, that  he  smelled.  that  he  did  drugs  and  slept  rough.  No  one  wanted 
to  look  beyond  that.  No  one  w  anted  to  question  how  all  this  could  have 
happened  over  a  period  of  one  year. 

This  seems  to  be  the  general  attitude  about  homeless  people.  People 
think  they  could  stop  drinking  or  stop  abusing  jobs  if  they  really  w  anted. 
People  say  that  Ihev  should  just  get  a  job.  People  say  they  don't  want 
their  taxes  going  to  support  such  stinking  and  lazy  people.  This  sad- 
dens me  even  more,  especially  after  seeing  what  happened  to  Owen 
and  my  own  failure  to  help  somebody  at  their  wits'  end. 

And  that  was  my  religion  dow  n  the  toilet  once  and  for  all. 

The  last  1  heard  of  Ow  en,  he  had  calmed  down  considerably.  People 
who  saw  him  said  he  was  a  shadow  of  his  fonner  self,  \ery  humble  and 
quiet.  However,  as  another  winter  approaches  he  is  still  on  the  streets.  ^ 


'lib  jJuniJiJ  Guy 

Fiction  by  Arron  Spencer 


It  felt  like  today  was  the  future.  It  was  like  what  he  saw  on  T.  V.  ten  years 
ago,  he  thought,  while  he  drove  his  shiny,  silvery  sports  car  at  90  miles 
per  hour,  weaving  w  ith  all  the  other  shiny  cars  on  the  gray,  city  freeway, 
lined  for  miles  with  pre-fabricated  cinder  block  walls  and  bright,  tlashy 
billboards. 

Going  90  there  was  nothing  to  see.  Time  flashed  by  in  a  rushed  blur 
of  fleeting  thoughts  and  roadside  trash.  Then  the  red  lights  collected  up 
ahead  and  everything  suddenly  slowed  down.  .'Ml  the  people  in  their  cars 
felt  stuck  and  grew  anxious  and  impatient  in  one  collectively  felt  blunt 
emotion.  The  little  glimmering  bubbles  trickled  slowly  down  their  cho- 
sen tributary,  weaving  in  and  out.  trying  to  see  up  ahead  in  anticipation  of 
moving  fast  again. 

He  went  to  work  the  same  time  as  every- 
one else,  every  day,  felt  the  rush  of  flying  o\  er 
the  smooth  pavement  one  moment  and  then 
the  sluggish  struggle  of  the  inevitable  trafllc 
jam  an  instant  later.  His  automatic  desire  was 
to  get  off,  leave  the  road,  go  somewhere  he 
could  be  free:  where  he  did  not  have  to  wait  to 
get  somewhere,  where  he  didn't  feel  like  a 
faceless,  blank  number,  like  a  digit,  like  ev- 
erv  body  else  on  that  road. 

"How  ugly,"  he  thought,  "that  so  many  of 
us  act  out  the  same  routine  every  day  of  the 
week."  There  was  no  beauty  in  the  certain, 
comfortable  predictabilitv  of  it,  in  the 
sameness  of  the  innumerable  bu.sincss  women 
and  men  trying  with  so  much  cfTort  to  impress 
each  other,  to  get  ahead,  climbing  their  way  to 
some  cloudy,  ha/v,  poorl\  defined  concept  of 
"success."  Even  those  w  ho  did  not  desire  suc- 
cess in  any  conventional  sense  aimed  for  it, 
cheated  for  it.  cut  comers  to  get  ahead  of  the 
others,  meicK  because  it  was  what  people  did. 
"What  a  sad  game."  he  thought  "bven  the 
winners  feel  like  losers,  as  if  they  just  didn't 
do  enough  with  their  li\  cs.  It's  a  game  that  we 


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Community  Integration 

...or  How  I  Potlucked  on  the  Clock 


by  Libby 


Pete  and  Duke*  are  like  my  new  best 
friends,  two  old  guys  with  Down's  syndrome.  I 
work  with  adults  with  developmental  disabili- 
ties and  lately  I've  been  pretty  pleased  with 
myself  for  my  ability  to  do  whatever  I  want  on 
the  clock  as  long  as  I  bring  the  guys.  It's  what 
my  employers  call  community  integration.  This 
means  going  for  walks  on  sunny  days,  checking 
out  the  art  museum.  ha\  ing  coffee  at  Stuart's, 
and  even  listening  to  various  friends  play  music 
at  bars.  1  take  Pete  and  Duke  most  often  because 
they  are  fun  and  mellow.  Duke  is  especially  fond 
of  cowboys  and  music,  so  anytime  a  friend  of 
mine  is  playing  a  gig  during  my  shifts  I  tr\  to 
schedule  in  a  little  community  integration.  Duke 
gets  so  excited  he  stims  out:  his  face  lights  up 
with  mouth  slightly  gaping,  as  he  pulls  his  thick 
hands  in  towards  his  chest,  tensing  his  muscles 
so  tightly  he  shakes.  It's  almost  orgasmic,  in  a 


short,  slow,  old-guy  kind  of  way.  I  love  to  plan 
community  integration  that  will  give  him  that 
thrill:  Willie  Nelson  on  the  stereo  as  we  drive 
around  town,  watching  construction  sights,  look- 
ing at  llamas,  and  drinking  soda  at  the  bar  w  ith 
country  music  playing. 

So,  we  were  out  at  Boundary  Bay  Brewery 
listening  to  Robert  Blake  and  Jan  play  some  old- 
time  music  on  guitar  and  mandolin  when  Erik 
joined  Pete.  Duke  and  I  at  the  table  where  we 
were  sipping  our  root  beers.  Erik  can  be  spotted 
at  all  times  of  day  and  night  around  town  with 
his  backpack.  He's  a  floater,  a  punk  forest  ranger, 
a  political  university  student,  a  v\  anderer  about 
town,  a  good  guy.  He  invited  me  to  his  birthday 
party.  I  regretfully  informed  him  that  I  would 
be  at  work  but  asked,  half-joking,  if  I  could  bring 
the  guys.  He  shrugged  and  show  ed  his  crooked 
smile — he's  up  for  it  if  they  are. 


I        tui 

4 


get  caught  by,  reeled  into  and  coerced  into  playing.  And  once  we're  in, 
with  our  debts  and  payments,  we're  stuck,  and  forced  to  run  along  the 
track  until  we're  far  enough  ahead  to  slow  down  and  take  a  peniiancnt 
break,  without  getting  trampled  by  all  the  others,  but  by  then  most  of  us 
are  old.  Most  people  really  are  reluctant  to  play  andjust  want  to  quit.  I  hear 
it  every  day: '  Arrrgh!  I  hate  my  job! '  Too  many  people  live  the  biggest  part 
of  their  lives  stressed.  There's  got  to  be  some  other,  better  way  for  us  to 
live  our  lives." 

He  wondered  w  hat  was  rcalistic-if  there  were  any  way  he  could  leave 
and  never  come  back.  He  wanted  to  actually  live  for  once,  continuously 
and  consistently,  like  he  had  imagined  as  a  kid,  memorizing  shapes  in  the 
clouds  on  lazy  days  after  school  with  his  friends,  sitting  around,  talking, 
crackirg  jokes,  wrestling  in  the  grass  and  falling  in  love.  Was  that  part 
over  already?  He  felt  so  young.  It  was  just  months  ago,  he  thought,  when 
he  last  played  like  a  kid  with  his  whole  gang  of  friends.  It  felt  like  a  dream 
that  he  could  remember  if  only  he  could  manage  to  dole  himself  out  some 
extra  time  to  think  hard  about  it.  How  would  he  be  happy  again  when  now 
his  whole  life  revolved  around  his  career,  securing  his  future  and  his  week- 
end plans?  The  predictability  left  a  deep  void  in  him. 

"The  other  option  is  to  get  ofTthe  track,  just  drop  out  of  the  race,  run 
away,  quit  competing,  retire  early,  live  simply,  fmd  some  people  who  want 
to  do  the  same  thing,  who  feel  the  same  way,  and  live  with  them." 

But  he  didn't  think  that  would  make  him  happy.  He  desired  the  end  of 
all  of  the  world's  frantic  commotion.  He  knew  that  if  he  ran  away,  he 
would  eventually,  on  some  lazy  day.  catch  sight  of  it  again  in  his  small 
cur\'e  of  the  world.  The  thought  of  having  to  run  from  it.  over  and  over, 
just  to  be  caught  up  to  again  and  again,  made  all  his  hopes  of  any  possibil- 
ity in  that  just,  green  future,  where  he  had  real  time  to  laugh,  play,  and  be 
creative,  fade  far  away  into  the  darker  chambers  of  his  consciousness. 

He  knew  how  the  parasitic  nature  of  modem  life  worked.  He  under- 
stood that  it  depended  more  and  more  upon  unexploited  resources  in  little- 
known  parts  of  the  world,  where  people  lived  uninterrupted  by  the  grind- 
ing roar  of  modem  civilization:  in  nature,  with  their  family,  friends,  and 
land,  rooted,  for  all  of  their  lives  without  material  needs,  and  with  little 
desire  for  the  iteins  of  convenience  that  most  of  us  now  depend  on  for 
survival.  These  types  of  people  were  powerless  against  the  great  momen- 
tum of  the  chaotic  machine.  To  be  one  of  these  people,  isolated  from  mod- 


em society,  permanently  retired  from  the  start,  was  complete  subversion 
of  the  status  quo.  Before  he  went  that  route,  he  wanted  a  revolution  in 
consciousness  and  in  the  way  "civilized"  societies  viewed  their  position  in 
the  world.  Great  changes  needed  to  be  made  before  he  was  safe  living  a 
life  apart  from  the  blind  scream  of  the  massive  system.. 

There  was  so  much  he  liked,  actually  loved,  about  experience,  about 
being  alive,  aside  from  his  meaningless  job.  He  hated  his  job,  but  of  course 
he  didn't  want  to  admit  it  to  anyone  or  to  himself,  because  he  did  it  so 
much,  ever>'  weekday,  sometimes  Saturdays,  and  because  so  many  of  his 
thoughts  were  dedicated  to  it.  But  just  thinking  of  work  when  he  was  at 
home  or  feeling  happy-  forcing  himself  out  of  bed  eveiy  morning,  sitting 
in  his  car,  waiting  in  traffic  ...  he  dreaded  all  of  it  with  sweaty  anticipa- 
tion, like  he  dreaded  being  in  front  of  a  crowd  without  anylhmg  to  say.  He 
hated  the  coffee  everybody  drank  to  stay  awake,  hated  the  balmy,  stutfy 
air  in  his  building,  hated  talking  like  a  robot,  so  proper,  like  it  was  the 
anny.  only  he  talked  business  instead  of  military  strateg\. 

And  that  was  important,  he  thought.  The  militar>'  is  fonnal.  inher- 
ently organized  and  planned  out.  If  spontaneity  should  occur  within  the 
ranks  it  might  topple  the  entire  order.  It  might  be  like  lighting  a  powder-  i 
soaked  fiise  whose  spark  grows  instantly  in  intensity-vvith  vibrant  varia- 
tions of  color  until  it  becomes  a  hot,  white  flame,  with  the  power  to  ignite 
a  deafening,  blinding,  windy  explosion,  that  topples  eveiything  that  years 
and  years  of  dedication,  training,  thought  and  experience  had  gone  into. 
Spontaneity  would  be  the  explosion  destroying  everything  that  had  cre- 
ated the  slick,  greased,  efficient  machine  that  nothing  could  ever  stop- 
where  nobody  thought,  and  nobody  created,  and  nothing  was  ever  origi- 
nal, where  everybody  looked  the  same,  thought  the  same,  felt  the  same. 
He  shuddered. 

This  system,  this  machine,  this  business,  was  not  human,  was  not  for 

humans.  It  didn't  bring  anybody  alive,  didn't  make  people  feel  loved  or 

nurtured.  This  system  was  purely  designed  for  efficiency.  Mistakes  and 

the  people  who  made  them  were  always  corrected  or  disposed  of  And 

those  who  were  expected  to  make  mistakes  weren't  e\  en  given  a  chance,  o 

This  was  near  perfection.  And  though  people  strive  and  die  for  the  ulti-  5 

mately  blissftil  result  of  perfection  and  that  one  great  ideal,  when  some-  = 

o 
thing  rtms  so  smoothly,  it  cannot  be  human  and  cannot  be  alive.  When  the  •" 

people  running  it  feel  like  drones,  or  faceless  insects,  like  one  amongst  the  ^ 


vXt  day  at  work  I  tried  to  have  no  ex- 
pectations. Sometimes  my  clients  just  do  not 
want  :o  have  anything  to  do  with  my  self-serv- 
ing community  integration.  Or  all  the  cars  will 
be  out.  or  other  stafTand  clients  will  have  plans. 
But  I  got  to  work  and  it  felt  like  summer  camp, 
with  everyone  shooting  hoops  in  the  parking  lot 
and  smoking  cigarettes.  No  one  had  plans  for 
the  evening  so  my  biggest  obstacle  was  what 
\egan  dish  to  make  for  Erik's  birthday  potluck. 
I  scoured  their  refrigerator  and  cupboards.  There 
was  a  carton  of  egg  product  with  an  e-z  pour 
spout,  ham,  yogurt,  fish  sticks,  tater  tots,  and  a 
million  boxes  of  Hamburger  Helper  and  maca- 
roni and  cheese.  1  almost  made  Tuna  Helper 
without  the  tuna.  Then  1  spotted  the  Smokey 
Cowboy  beans  and  rice  and  all  these  little  boxes 
of  pasta  dishes  that  are  self-proclaimed  great  side 
dishes  at  your  barbecue. 

The  guys  busied  themselves  taking  apart  a 
stereo  on  the  back  porch  with  butter  knives  while 
I  made  the  prepackaged  food  and  a  birthday  card. 
As  1  loaded  up  bags  with  their  plates  and  cans 
of  pop  and  the  obsessively  important  paper  nap- 
kin, Duke  got  maniacally  thrilled  signing  his  D 


all  across  the  birthday  card,  laughing  and  laugh- 
ing and  signing  his  name:  DDDDDDDDDD.  1 
rounded  them  up,  signed  out  for  the  car  and  we 
were  otT. 

It  was  strange  for  me  to  arrive  in  a  car  and 
I  wasn't  sure  where  to  park.  I  realized  as  1  helped 
the  guys  up  to  the  house  how  rickety  the  steps 
are  and  how  the  cracks  in  the  sidewalk  were 
difficult  for  them  to  navigate  in  the  seven 
o'clock  shadows.  When  I  got  to  the  kitchen  1 
was  greeted  by  my  housemates  that  1  hadn't  seen 
for  days,  as  Erik  welcomed  us  with  only  mild 
surprise.  Robert  Blake  was  going  to  play  some 
music  later  and  I  was  proud  of  just  making  it 
there.  I  introduced  the  guys  around,  patting 
myself  on  the  back  for  working  work  into  my 
life. 

And  then  it  got  tricky,  and  a  bit  awkward, 
as  the  reality  of  the  situation  set  in.  The  guys 
were  not  versed  in  potluck  etiquette.  I  tried  to 
help  them  through  the  line,  pointing  out  the 
foods  they  might  like  and  advising  them  to  leave 
food  for  the  others  at  the  party.  Pete  wanted  a 
hamburger  and  all  Duke  really  wanted  was 
salad.  \\  hich  is  strange  because  one  of  my  great- 


est accomplishments  at  work  has  been  slipping 
him  some  greens  under  a  pile  of  Bac-Os,  cheese, 
and  ranch  dressing,  but  there  was  no  salad,  or 
meat,  on  the  table.  Pete  and  Duke  sat  stiffly  at 
a  little  table  while  evcrvone  else  was  out  on  the 
porch,  balancing  plates  on  their  healthy,  young 
knees.  Part  of  my  job  is  to  coach  them  so  they 
eat  slowly  and  don't  choke  on  their  food.  They 
ate  slow  ly.  I  could  hear  the  clock  tick  as  the  three 
of  us  chewed  our  Smokey  Cowboy  beans  and 
rice. 

I  started  feeling  like  some  seventh-grade 
reject  sitting  silently  in  the  comer  with  the  'tards. 
I  just  sat  staring  at  my  plate,  wondering  what 
was  I  thinking,  bringing  them  to  a  potluck? 
Potlucks  are  all  about  eating  and  conversation. 
Pete  had  decided  to  only  growl  that  night  and 
Duke  is  always  the  silent  cowboy  type.  What 
do  you  do  with  guys  who  don't  talk?  It  took  me 
six  months  of  working  w ith  Pete  and  Duke  to 
learn  their  ways  of  communicating  with  a  few 
signs,  mumbled  language,  and  the  ritual  of  their 
days.  I  almost  cried.  Because  it  wasn't  all  about 
doing  what  1  want  to  on  the  clock  and  dragging 
the  guys  behind  me — it  was  about  testing  my 


("Normal  Guy"  conlinucd  from  p.  75) 

endless  lines  of  ones,  without  connection,  love,  color,  or  changes,  with- 
out drama  or  beauty  and  all  that  makes  life  worth  living,  it  ceases  to  exist 
for  humans,  or  for  anything  dynamic.  It  ceases  to  be  alive  in  any  organic 
sense.  Instead  of  humans  making  creative,  original  decisions,  emulating 
the  dynamism  attributed  to  all  the  living  beings  on  earth,  instead,  this 
process  was  devoid  of  all  that,  devoid  of  joy  or  even  true  satisfaction. 
This  was  what  slavery 
must've  been  like.  This  is      1'"    ' 


their  folks  what  a  good  kid  they  were,  what  a  successful  person  they'll 
grow  up  to  be,  and  then  to  get  some  job  they  hate  so  they  can  get  pro- 
moted later  to  another  job  they'll  hate  even  more,  where  they'll  have  to 
follow  even  more  rules  and  act  like  they  know  more  than  ever>'one  be- 
low them  so  they  can  tell  people  what  to  do,  and  get  paid  for  it.  and  be  so 
tired  when  they  get  home  that  there's  nothing  that  sounds  better  and  more 

relaxing  than  to  have  all 


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tifiil.  meaningful  existence  to 
the  cold,  calculated,  one-di- 
mensional plane  of  straight 
lines  and  perfect  predictabil- 
ity. 

In  the  business  world,  espe- 
cially in  the  one  he  worked  in, 

like  the  military,  people  did  not  run  the  factories,  or  make  the  decisions 
based  on  their  experience,  intuition,  talent,  or  even  pleasure.  They  let  the 
demographics  speak  for  themselves.  They  let  the  machines  in  the  factory 
assemble  the  parts.  They  waited  for  the  stock  ticker  to  come  back  to  tell 
them  if  their  business  was  popular,  which  it  always  was.  because  who 
doesn't  need  a  faster  modem,  more  memory  or  the  latest  high-speed  pro- 
cessor? It  was  becoming  a  game  that  he  played,  that  everybody  played, 
not  because  it  fulfilled  their  dreams,  because  it  made  them  happy,  satis- 
fied, loved,  or  because  they  had  always  wanted  to  do  just  that  one  thing, 
but  because  it  was  what  made  them  money,  gave  them  safety,  security, 
made  them  feel  successful,  which  gave  them  a  fleeting  sense  of  accep- 
tance and  made  their  parents  proud  of  them. 

"Sad,  its  really  sad,"  he  thought,  waiting  there  on  the  freeway,  late  for 
work,  in  his  shiny  car  that  wasn't  going  anywhere  at  all.  among  lines  of 
other  people,  feeling  similar  feelings,  doing  nothing  about  them,  stuck, 
going  no  place.  "This  way  of  life  is  all  completely  meaningless!  Why 
does  everyone  put  up  with  such  a  wasteful  life:  squandering  their  time  at 
college,  getting  grades,  so  they  can  get  a  degree  and  a  diploma  to  show 


their  worries  and  concerns 
and  passions  placated  with 
a  cold  beer  and  some  chips, 
sacked  out  in  front  of  the 
T.V..  like  a  bag  of  flour? 
Why  do  people  put  up  with 
this  way  of  life?  It's  boring, 
meaningless,  repetitive,  it 
makes  people  crazy,  sick, 
lonely,  and  angry,  and  all 
our  real  living  is  done  in 
just  two  little  days  at  the 
end  of  the  week." 

He  could  go  on  and  on  forever  like  that,  thinking  about  how  mun- 
dane his  life  was,  never  doing  anything  about  it.  know  ing  the  entire  time 
that  if  he  didn't,  he'd  be  old  soon  and  it  would  all  be  over,  even  the 
ability  to  critique  w  ould  be  drained  from  him,  w  rung  out  of  his  mind  and 
dried  up.  His  imagination  would  w  ither.  His  curiosity  would  disappear. 
He  knew  his  life  was  short.  He  knew  how  time  worked,  how  it  deceived 
everybody  into  thinking  and  feeling  that  they've  got  days  and  days  until 
they'll  actually  have  to  stop  for  a  moment,  act  on  their  core  feelings  and 
do  some  genuine  thinking  about  what  it  w  as  besides  a  big  house  or  a  nice 
car  that  they  wanted  out  of  this  life.  He  knew  what  he  wanted.  And  it 
wasn't  this.  But  he  was  stuck,  in  debt,  afraid,  and  had  always  been  a 
mediocre  person  -  a  dreamer,  not  a  doer.  This  day  was  no  difl'erent  from 
any  other. 

He  felt  hot  in  his  suit;  his  eyes  squinted  at  the  glare  on  the  road,  at 
the  bright  reflections  in  his  rearview  minx)r.  His  collar  felt  tight  and  his 
tic  felt  tighter.  His  head  pulsed  in  his  skull.  He  felt  like  he  was  being 
trapped  and  tied  down.  He  was  overwhelmed  with  frustration.  He  could 


U3 


ideals  that  we  can  have  a  community  that  em- 
braces Pete  and  Duke.  It  was  the  first  time  I  had 
invited  the  guys  to  my  world,  not  some  acti\ity 
around  town,  to  just  hang  out.  And  it  was  going 
nowhere,  slowly. 

But  then  people  started  filtering  in  for  sec- 
onds, stopping  to  chat  in  the  comfy  chair  next  to 
our  table.  And  someone  said,  "Hey  Pete,  looks 
like  you're  still  hungry.  Let's  see  if  there's  any 
food  left  in  the  kitchen."  We  all  listened  to  some 
music  in  the  living  room  and  then  I  had  to  take 
the  guys  back  for  medications  and  bedtime.  Ev- 
eryone was  polite  and  friendly,  even  if  we  had 
nothing  to  say.  it  was  small,  but  important. 

That  night  as  I  biked  home  from  work,  I 
got  to  thinking  about  the  whole  party  and  com- 
munity. And  while  developmentally  disabled 
guys  are  pretty  obvious  in  their  lack  of  integra- 
tion, so  many  of  our  subcultures  don't  integrate. 
Punks  have  attitude,  hippies  are  stoners,  students 
and  activists  have  their  rhetoric  and  everyone 
has  a  dress  code.  There  are  people  like  Erik, 
who  mingles  with  them  all  in  his  own  uniform 
of  wool,  but  we  all  need  some  integration. 

We  need  bridges,  people  who  make  those 
connections  on  a  personal  basis,  who  find  the 


points  of  common  interest,  forming  individual 
relationships  and  slowly  bring  others  across.  We 
need  activities,  like  a  giant  croquet  party  or  bas- 
ketball game  or  pifiata  or  building  houses  or 
cooking  or  whatever,  just  something  to  occupy 
our  hands  when  the  words  are  slow  in  coming. 
Common  physical  activities  that  can  help  us  get 
over  our  fears  and  shyness. 

A  good  party  is  revolutionary  in  that  way. 
The  role  of  hostess  is  essential  to  a  diversified 
cause;  being  able  to  make  connections  and  put 
people  at  ease,  helping  to  be  the  ambassador 
between  seemingly  disconnected  groups,  trans- 
lating when  vocabulanes  and  language  fail,  help- 
ing you  through  the  potluck  line  and  pointing 
out  what  food  you  might  like. 

So  I  try  to  play  hostess  and  make  work  a 
party.  It  is  especially  challenging  because  Pete 
and  Duke  are  from  a  generation  of  people  who 
were  institutionalized  without  question.  Doctors 
told  confused  parents  that  the  best  thing  for  their 
child  would  be  to  take  them  out  of  their  home. 
Fifty  years  ago.  that  meant  sitting  in  a  urine- 
stained  comer  and  watching  TV,  and  having  all 
your  power  and  choice  taken  away.  If  they  had 
been  raised  around  their  families  or  in  a  pro- 


feel  the  pressure  building,  his  head  pounding.  His  skin  tickled  while  cold 
trickles  of  sweat  beaded  on  his  forehead.  He  needed  to  be  released,  felt 
there  was  nowhere  he  could  go,  nothing  he  could  do.  These  feelings, 
thoughts  and  problems  were  engulfing  him,  swallowing  him  and  he  was 
drowning  in  the  oblivion  of  the  sucking,  empty  vacuum  into  some  un- 
known darkness.  He  had  to  do  something  NOW  or  he  would  explode 
with  energy  and  madness. 

He  felt  like  he  would  do  something  "irrational."  "Don't  get  crazy,"  he 
told  himself  taking  a  few  deep  breaths  of  recycled  freeway  air.  He  turned 
on  the  air  conditioning  and  he  found  some  soothing  music  on  the  radio. 
He  looked  around  at  all  the  other  people  in  their  cars.  They  looked  dull 
and  anxious.  They  all  looked  just  like  he  felt.  He  put  on  his  darkest  sun- 
glasses and  with  his  feelings  calmed,  dreamed  of  what  he  would  do  once 
he  got  off  of  work.  As  he  daydreamed,  he  nudged  his  car  forward  a  few 
feet  along  the  road:  a  few  feet  closer  to  work,  a  few  feet  closer  to  the 
weekend,  a  few  feet  closer  to  those  two  wann  weeks  in  Hawaii,  a  few 
feet  closer  to  retirement,  old  age  and  all  that  lay  ahead  in  his  short  life 
that  was  slowly  melting  away,  day  by  day.  But  he  tried  not  to  think  about 
that.  "Think  Good  Thoughts,"  he  read  on  the  bumper  in  front  of  him. 
Think  good  thoughts.  And  he  started  feeling  better,  with  the  cool  air  dry- 
ing his  sweaty  hands  and  the  mellow  music  softening  his  anxiety.. 

He  had  to  do  his  job. 

He  couldn't  just  NOT  go  to  work. 
Soon  he  was  content  sitting  in  tratTic.  with  the  calm  voices  on  the  radio  to 
soothe  him.  looking  out  the  window  and  in  the  mirror,  just  thinking  softly, 
like  all  the  rest  of  the  people  in  their  cars.  "I  guess  it's  just  what  I  have  to 
do.  This  is  just  how  people  live  these  days.  There's  no  going  back.  This  is 
reality.  You  can't  just  change  reality."  He  felt  like  he  could  never  mend 
these  feelings  of  powerlessness  so  he  comforted  his  complacency,  and 
gave  in  for  the  moment,  feeling  impotent  about  his  situation,  and  just 
tried  to  forget  about  it.  He  didn't  feel  like  fighting  and  all  he  really  wanted 
to  do  was  go  back  to  bed,  he  thought.  He  blamed  the  day  of  the  week  for 
how  he  felt.  He  was  hard  on  himself  over  the  weekend.  It  was  normal  to 
feel  like  this.  Everybody  felt  like  this.  This  was  just  how  Mondays  were.  ^ 


gressive,  supported,  living  situation  like  they 
are  in  now,  I  believe  they  would  be  more  so- 
cially adept.  They  would  possibly  have  greater 
language  capabilities  if  they  had  been  talked, 
read  or  played  with  as  children.  It  seems  a  lot 
of  the  adults  I  work  with  are  not  so  much  chal- 
lenged by  their  physical  conditions  but  by  be- 
ing raised  in  fucked  up  situations.  They  all  have 
quirky  habits  and  rebellions  related  to  food  and 
hygiene  are  often  based  on  the  ways  they  were 
treated  as  kids.  Yet  my  clients  spend  much  of 
their  energy  trying  to  be  normal  Americans: 
dressing  in  non-descript  clothes,  eating  at 
McDonald's,  and  vacationing  at  Disneyland. 
Which  is  funny,  because  I  spend  much  of  my 
energy  trying  to  avoid  and  subvert  homogenized 
American  culture. 

Work  isn't  all  potlucks  and  country  mu- 
sic. Every  time  I  talk  about  work  1  realize  how 
much  I  learn  from  the  challenge  of  assisting 
folks  in  daily  living,  how  often  I  see  myself  in 
these  disabled  adults.  Pete  has  been  teaching 
me  how  to  be  atTectionate.  When  he's  not  growl- 
ing, he  holds  my  hand  and  dances  with  me,  and 
playfully  pretends  to  punch  and  shoot  me.  And 
Sal  is  just  like  most  people,  with  the  way  she 
talks  about  work  and  family,  dates  and  primp- 
ing and  her  cat.  The  funny  part  is  that's  all  she 
says,  repeatedly:  "Work."  "Debbie."  "1  got 
date."  "Shower."  "Kitty-kitty."  Sharon  and 
Roger,  with  their  romantic  relationship,  show 
me  all  the  ways  that  men  and  women,  and  room- 
mates, are  sweet  and  fight  and  miss-communi- 
cate. There  is  always  something  just  slightly  otT 
about  it,  making  it  is  humorous  and  obvious, 
and  enlightening.  We  have  parties  where  people 
get  excited  and  stim  out,  flipping  forks  across 
the  table,  or  become  frustrated  because  they 
want  to  sit  in  that  chair  or  have  more  cake. 

Maybe  most  selfishly.  1  leave  work  thank- 
ful of  my  capabilities.  1  can  drive  and  write 
checks  and  wash  my  hair  if  I  choose  to.  I  can 
make  choices  about  showering  and  leaving  my 
house.  1  can  fall  in  love  and  get  pissed  off  or  be 
messy  or  lazy,  and  no  one  documents  it  in  a 
logbook  for  the  state  to  inspect.  I  have  friends, 
loads  of  them,  and  I  can  make  new  ones  when- 
ever I  want.  I  can  call  my  parents  on  the  tele- 
phone without  needing  assistance  dialing  or 
speaking.  1  can  order  food  in  a  restaurant  with- 
out being  asked  to  repeat  myself  twenty  times. 

Why  do  1  get  paid  to  take  old  guys  with 
Down's  syndrome  to  potlucks?  Why  do  I  fill 
out  fonns  on  community  integration  at  the  end 
of  my  shift?  Because  getting  over  fears  and 
misconceptions  of  others  doesn't  come  natu- 
rally for  groups  who  have  been  traditionally  seg- 
regated. It  is  as  important  for  my  guys  to  learn 
how  to  interact  in  social  situations  as  it  is  for 
the  community  to  see  these  guys  living  their 
lives.  When  they  are  out  renting  a  movie,  shop- 
ping at  the  mall  or  dancing  at  a  bar,  people  have 
the  opportunity  to  see  that  folks  with  develop- 
mental disabilities  aren't  freaks,  contagious  or 
dangerous.  And  sometimes  Pete  and  Duke  need 
a  little  help  to  get  out  of  their  apartment  and  try 
something  new  in  the  world.  Don't  we  all?  -^ 


clients  names  have  been  changed 


^ 


"Elizabeth  Uctiia'  Martinez  is  a  national  and  international  troa- 
siirc.  Her  life  and  work  provide  a  model  of  internationalism  and  solidar- 
ity, as  well  as  local  organizing.  "Think  globally,  act  locally'  was  her 
practice  long  before  the  slogan  was  created.  "From  work  for 
decolonization  at  the  United  Nations,  to  the  Civil  Rights  Movement,  to 
pioneering  the  women's  liberation  movement,  to  local  organizing  in  New 
Mexico  and  C  alitbmia,  to  top-rale  journalism  anil  political  theory,  Bctita 
continues  to  blaze  trails  and  create  priceless  legacies,  mentoring  count- 
less social  activists,  young  and  old,  male  and  female,  people  of  all  col- 
ors, gay  and  straight.  alwa\  s  with  astoni.shing  patience  and  intelligence" 
This  is  how  Roxanne  Dunbar-Orti/  describes  her  friend  of  30  years. 
Dunbar-Ortiz  has  been  in\olved  in  radical  politics  and  activism  since 
the  sixties.  She  founded  one  of  the  first  groups  of  the  Womens  Libera- 
tion Movement,  Cell  16  and  helped  edit  their  journal,  "No  More  Fun 
and  Ciames".  She  is  the  author  of  Red  Dirt:  Growing  Up  Okie  and  she's 
a  regular  reader  at  the  Anarchist  Cafe  nights  in  San  Francisco. 

Elizabeth  "Betita'  Martinez  lives  in  the  Mission  District  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  she  is  involved  in  many  different  projects  and  campaigns. 
Her  main  project  is  the  Institute  for  MultiRacial  Justice,  which  she  co- 
founded  in  I')')?.  She  serves  as  the  co-chair  of  the  Institute  and  edits  the 
Institutes  publication.  Shades  of  Power. 

The  Institute  aims  to  "serve  as  a  resource  center  that  will  strengthen 
the  struggle  against  White  Supremacy  by  combating  the  tactics  of  di- 
vide-and-control  and  advancing  solidarity  among  people  of  color"  (from 
the  group's  Mission  Statement). 

The  Institute  serves  as  a  clearinghouse  of  information  about  joint 
work  done  by  communities  of  color  locally,  regionally  and  eventually 
on  a  national  basis.  The  Institute  provides  educational  materials  to  help 
build  greater  understanding  and  respect  between  people  of  color  Work- 
ing to  build  solidarity  between  communities  of  color,  the  Institute  holds 
educational  forums  on  topics  and  issues  that  are  not  only  important  to 
communities  of  color,  but  that  have  divided  people  of  color.  Forum  top- 
ics have  included  immigrant  rights  and  bilingual  education  and  the  these 
events  bring  together  organizers  from  v  arious  groups  to  have  a  dialogue 
about  the  issues.  These  forums  and  other  work  done  by  the  Institute  try 
to  provide  a  site  for  people  from  difTcrent  communities  of  color  to  meet 
with  each  other  and  find  ways  to  support  one  another 

In  October  of  1999,  Martinez  and  the  Institute  put  together  the 
Shades  of  Power  Festival:  Alliance  Building  With  Film  and  Video.  The 
festival's  program  stated,  "the  movies  show  how  different  peoples  of 
color  in  the  U.S.  have  related  and  worked  together  in  common  struggles 
for  social  justice.  A  few  of  the  \  ideos  focus  on  a  single  group  whose 
struggle  continues  today  and  needs  support  from  other  people  of  color" 
The  festival  featured  movies  about  Ethnic  Studies  student  strikes  in  '68- 
"69.  the  Puerto  Rican  Young  Lords  Party,  Angela  Davis,  June  Jordan, 
Yuri  Kochiyama,  the  Japanese  Internment  Camps  during  WWII,  hous- 
ing struggles  by  Latinos.  Filipinos.  African-Americans,  repression  and 
resistance  at  the  U.S.  Mexico  border,  labor  organizing  and  environmen- 
tal justice  campaigns.  In  all,  about  20  films  were  viewed.  Between  mov- 
ies, there  were  four  discussion  panels  u  ith  organizers  from  \  arious  groups 
on  genlrification  in  San  Irancisci>.  immigrant  rights  and  en\  ironnienial 
justice.  Hundreds  of  people  went  to  the  festival. 

The  other  main  project  of  the  Institute  is  publishing  Shades  of  Power 
It  is  published  as  a  step  in  the  direction  of  creating  an  anti-racist,  anti- 
capitalist  ideological  climate  Shades  of  Power,  which  is  currently  on  its 
6th  issue,  is  full  of  articles  on  organizing  around  environmental  lustice 
issues,  police  brutality,  violence  in  public  schools,  workers'  rights,  im- 


Towards  Social  Justice:   ^  ^^      ^  ^ ' 

Elizabeth  'Betita'  Martine; 

by  Chris  Crass  ^-gg^       ■^ 

migration  and  incarc^ratfen  -  td^hmrie  atew.  All  of  the  articles  locuson 
pro-active  campaigns  and  positive  acti\  ism  with  special  attention  paid 
to  alliance  building  among  people  of  color. 

Shades  of  Power  helps  the  Institute  work  towards  their  long-term 
goals.  According  to  their  mission  statement,  the  Institute  is  "committed 
to  linking  the  struggle  of  Third  World  unity  with  struggles  to  build  a 
new  society  free  of  class  relations,  sexism,  homophobia,  en\  ironmental 
abuse,  and  the  other  diseases  of  our  times". 

Working  with  women's  groups  is  a  special  focus  of  the  Institute, 
"because  women  have  often  taken  the  lead  in  building  alliances  among 
people  of  color".  Organizing  with  south  is  also  a  major  focus  of  the 
Institute  with  the  goal  of  developing  autonomous  youth  initiatives.  The 
Institute  was  active  in  the  youth  led  campaign  against  Proposition  2 1  in 
California.  Prop  21,  the  juvenile  crime  initialise,  makes  it  easier  to  pros- 
ecute children  as  adults,  broadly  defines  gangs  and  gang  membership  to 
include  most  aspects  of  hip-hop  culture  and  criminalizes  it  and  plays  on 
social  fears  of  crime  committed  by  young  people  of  color  -  regardless  of 
the  fact  that  violent  youth  crime  has  declined  significantly  in  the  last 
few  years.  When  youth  organizations  like  Third  Eye  Movement.  Homey 
Network  and  the  Critical  Resistance  ^■outh  Task  Force  mobilized  and 
organized  thousands  of  young  people,  the  Institute  offered  support  and 
solidarity.  As  Roxanne  stated  earlier.  Betita  is  a  mentor  to  countless  ac- 
tivists and  organizers.  Her  years  of  experience,  her  firm  dedication  to 
radical  social  change  and  her  wisdom  and  insights  into  organizing  ha\e 
intlucnccd  and  inspired  many  who  are  active  today,  especially  young 
women  of  color  organizers. 

In  addition  to  the  Institute.  Martinez  is  also  involved  with  many 
different  organizations  in  the  Bay  .'\rea.  such  as  the  Women  of  Color 
Resource  Center  and  Media  Alliance.  Betita  is  also  the  author  of  the 
book  De  Colon's  Means  All  OJ  L's:  Laliiia  Hews  of  a  Mulli-Colored 
Century,  published  by  South  End  Press  in  1998. 

Betita's  book.  De  Colores  Means  "All  Of  is.  which  hit  the  shelves 
last  year,  is  a  chronicle  of  organizing  and  alliance  building  throughout 
her  years  of  work.  The  book  is  a  collection  of  essays  that  range  from 
discussions  on  attacks  against  immigrant  rights  and  alTmnaliNe  action 
to  contemporary  struggles  for  Ethnic  Studies  lead  by  Latina o  Nouth. 
Betita's  book  is  full  of  essays  that  develop  a  radical  Chicana  perspective 
and  analysis  on  society,  race  relations,  history,  dynamics  between  men 
and  women  in  past  and  present  activism  and  on  the  fiiture  of  building  a 
multiracial,  anti-racist,  queer  liberationist.  feminist,  anti-capitalist  move- 
ment. The  essays  are  packed  with  stories,  examples  of  past  activism, 
models  of  past  and  present  organizing  and  inspiration  to  implement  les- 
sons in  the  book  into  our  organizing  eflbrts. 

Elizabeth  Martinez  traces  her  political  consciousness  back  to  her 
childhood.  Her  father  had  moved  from  Mexico  into  the  US  and  after 
quite  a  few  years  of  financial  hardship  ended  up  working  in  Washington 
DC  as  a  secretary  in  the  Mexican  llmbassv.  She  remembers  grow  ing  up 
w  ith  stories  of  the  Mexican  Revolution,  Zapata  and  US  imperialism. 
Also,  Martinez  grew  up  in  a  middle-class  white  suburb  of  DC  and  was 
the  only  person  of  color  in  school,  which  made  her  painfully  aware  of 
racism  and  w  hue  supremacy.  ,\fter  World  War  II.  Maitincz  went  to  work 
at  the  United  Nations  as  a  researcher  on  colonialism  decolonization  ef- 
forts and  strategics.  During  the  McCarthy  Era.  her  section  chief  and 
other  co-wnrkers  at  the  I'N  were  fired  for  hav  ing  past  or  present  con- 
nections w  iih  Communism.  In  1959.  three  months  after  the  Cuban  Revo- 
lution claimed  victory.  Martinez  went  to  Cuba  to  witness  a  successful 
anli-colonial.  socialist  struggle.  This  trip  to  Cuba  had  a  profound  impact 
on  her 


ind  the  Institute  for  MultiRacial  Justice 


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In  addition  to  Cuba,  Martinez  later  traveled  to  the  Soviet  iTnion. 
Poland,  Hungary,  Vietnam  (during  the  war)  and  China  to  witness  how 
people  were  implementing  socialism. 

When  the  sit-in  movement  swept  across  the  South  in  1 960,  a  new 
and  exciting  form  of  direct  action  organizing  was  taking  shape  which 
soon  lead  to  the  fonnation  of  the  Student  Non- Violent  Coordinating 
Committee.  SNCC  was  one  of  the  most  important  organizations  of  the 
1960s  as  it  successfully  experimented  with  various  fomis  of  commu- 
nity organizing,  direct  action  tactics,  radically  democratic  decision-mak- 
ing and  an  egalitarian  vision  that  inspired  and  influenced  countless  other 
groups  and  projects  in  that  ■60s  and  into  today.  While  SNCC,  along 
with  the  Southern  Civil  Rights  Movement,  is  generally  remembered  as 
a  Black  led  struggle  with  the  involvement  of  whites  -  Betita  was  one  of 
two  Chicanas  working  full-time  for  SNCC;  Maria  Varela  was  also  a 
SNCC  organizer  Martinez  originally  served  as  the  director  of  SNCC's 
office  in  New  York.  Betita  edited  the  photo  history  book.  The  Move- 
ment, which  not  only  raised  fiinds  for  SNCC,  but  also  brought  graphic 
images  of  the  Civil  Rights  movement  into  homes  across  the  United 
States.  Martinez  was  an  organizer  with  SNCC  in  1964  during  the  Mis- 
sissippi Summer  project  (often  referred  to  as  Freedom  Suminer). 

In  1 968,  a  year  of  revolution  and  repression  around  the  world,  she 
moved  to  New  Mexico  to  work  in  the  land  grant  movement  of  Chicanos 
as  struggling  to  recover  lands  lost  when  the  US  took  over  half  of  Mexico 
with  the  1 846-48  war  There  she  launched  an  important  mo\  cment  news- 
paper. El  Grito  del  Norte  (The  Cry  of  the  North),  and  continued  pub- 
lishing it  for  5  years  along  with  other  activism.  El  Grito  reported  on 
international  activism  and  sought  to  show  connections  between  differ- 
ent struggles.  At  the  Chicano  Communications  Center,  which  she  co- 
founded  in  Albuquerque,  she  edited  the  bilingual  pictorial  volume  500 
Years  of  Chicano  History  at  a  time  when  almost  no  books  existed  on  the 
subject.  The  pictorial  became  the  basis  of  her  educational  video  Viva 
La  Causa!  which  has  been  shown  at  film  festivals  and  classrooms  across 
the  country.  In  all  of  this  activism,  she  worked  with  and  trained  many 
young  Chicanas/os. 

In  the  late  '60s  when  the  Women's  Liberation  Movement  exploded 
across  the  country  with  feminist  groups,  publications,  protest  actions, 
manifestos  and  speakers  everywhere,  Elizabeth  Martinez  was  in  New 
Mexico  helping  shape  the  newly  developing  movement.  In  her  essay, 
"History  Makes  Us,  We  Make  History"  from  the  anthology.  The  Femi- 
nist Memoir  Project:  Voices  From  Women's  Liberation.  Betita  talks  about 
developing  a  Chicana  feminism  that  confronts  race,  class  and  gender 
inequality.  In  that  essay  she  writes  about  the  whiteness  of  the  Women's 
Liberation  Movement  and  the  sexism  in  the  Chicano  Movement  and 
the  need  to  struggle  against  all  forms  of  oppression.  During  this  time, 
Betita  was  made  an  honorary  member  of  WITCH  (Women's  Interna- 
tional Conspiracy  from  Hell). 

Since  1976  she  has  been  living  in  the  Bay  Area.  Betita  became 
deeply  involved  in  leftist  party  building  politics  for  10  years.  In  1982 
she  ran  for  Governor  of  California  on  the  Peace  and  Freedom  Party 
ticket;  the  first  Chicana  on  the  ballot  tor  that  office.  She  has  also  taught 
courses  in  Ethnic  Studies  and  Women  Studies  at  Hayward  State  Uni- 
versity. Martinez  has  traveled  ail  across  the  United  States  speaking  on 
colleges  and  in  classrooms  about  race,  class,  gender  issues  and  organiz- 
ing. She  has  teamed  up  with  longtime  activist  Elena  Featherston,  also  a 
co-founder  of  the  Institute,  and  they  have  done  joint  speaking  tours  called 
"Black  and  Brown-Get  Down",  which  aim  at  building  alliances  be- 
tween people  of  color  She  has  consistently  been  a  mentor  over  the  years 
to  new  and  long-time  activists  and  organizers  helping  transfer  skills. 


knowledge  and  experience  in  effort  to  build  our  movements.  In  addition 
to  editing  Shades  of  Power,  she  is  also  a  regular  contributor  to  Z  Maga- 
zine and  other  publications. 

The  Institute  for  MultiRacial  Justice  is  just  the  latest  project  in  a 
long  list  of  etTorts  to  make  the  world  a  better  place.  Like  her  other  projects, 
the  Institute  works  to  develop  long-range  goals  and  vision  to  guide  ac- 
tivists from  one  stmggle  to  the  next.  As  we  mo\  e  from  one  cnsis  to  the 
next  -  from  welfare  refonn,  to  the  ending  of  affinnative  action,  to  the 
bombing  of  Kosovo,  to  Mumia's  execution  -  we  become  wom-down 
and  burned-out,  Betita  reminds  us  that  we  must  remember  that  we  are 
part  of  a  movement,  we  are  part  of  something  much  bigger  than  our- 
selves and  we  are  not  alone  in  the  struggle.  She  reminds  us  that  while  we 
confront  budget  cuts  in  Ethnic  Sttidies  programs  or  new  attacks  against 
the  civil  rights  of  homeless  people,  that  we  must  hold  onto  our  goals  - 
solidarity,  community,  revolution,  egalitarianism.  a  new  world.  She  re- 
minds us  that  as  activists,  as  organizers,  we  have  a  responsibility  to  teach 
and  train  others  -  that  we  have  a  responsibility  to  actively  build  a  new 
world. 

Martinez  also  has  much  to  say  to  us  about  how  we  build  move- 
ments for  social  change.  After  the  massive  resistance  to  the  World  Trade 
Organization  in  Seattle,  Martinez  wrote  the  widely  distributed  and  highly 
influential  essay,  "Where  Was  the  Color  in  Seattle?  Looking  for  reasons 
why  the  Great  Battle  was  so  white".  She  writes,  "Understanding  the 
reasons  for  the  low  level  of  color,  and  what  can  be  learned  from  it,  is 
crucial  if  we  are  to  make  Seattle's  promise  of  a  new,  international  move- 
ment against  imperialist  globalization  come  true."  Through  interviews 
and  observations  she  writes  about  the  lessons  that  organizers  -  people  of 
color  and  white  -  must  learn.  We  must  connect  the  issues  of  imperialist 
globalization  to  local  community  issues.  White  radicals  need  to  develop 
and  put  forward  an  analysis  of  corporate  domination  that  understands 
racial  oppression  in  the  third  world  and  in  the  United  States.  She  writes 
that  radicals  of  color  need  to  be  networking  and  connecting  their  work 
with  a  global  framework.  White  radicals  need  to  go  beyond  their  famil- 
iar circles  and  form  coalitions  with  people  of  color  with  an  Understand- 
ing of  how  white  activists  in  the  past  have  betrayed  people  of  color. 
White  radicals  need  a  strong  race,  class  and  gender  analysis  and  it  should 
be  central  to  their  political  worldview.  It  must  be  remembered  that  white 
radicals  have  a  responsibility  to  develop  anti-racist  politics  and  actively 
confront  white  privilege.  As  radicals  of  color  organize  in  communities 
of  color,  white  radicals  interested  in  movement  building  must  strengthen 
the  anti-racist  politics  of  predominately  white  groups  and  activist  com- 
munities. 

Martinez  also  has  much  to  say  in  her  writings  about  the  day-today 
organizing  work  that  we  engage  in.  She  stresses  that  we  must  take  edu- 
cation and  training  folks  seriously.  If  we  are  to  become  a  participatory, 
radically  democratic,  feminist,  multi-racial,  anti-capitalist,  queer 
liberationist,  internationalist  movement  -  then  we  need  to  work  at  it.  We 
need  to  teach  each  other  skills,  tactics,  and  political  analysis  so  that  we 
can  all  be  leaders  in  a  movement  for  our  collective  liberation. 

Martinez  and  other  radicals  of  her  generation  have  much  to  teach 
the  younger  generation  of  today.  It  is  critical  that  we  listen,  learn  and 
develop  relationships  based  on  common  respect.    .^ 


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Bfl  ta  2001:  W^^vSflon^Qk.  and  the  tentatively  titled  Cnmefrt/n*  for  Experts 


Media  Alliance 

versus 

the  national  asscx^iation 
of  broadcasters 


It's  almost  ironic  that  a  culture  that  is  so  incredibly  saturated  with  informa- 
tion, in  which  new  forms  of  media  are  rapidly  being  developed  and  new 
sources  are  constantly  springing  up.  that  we  are  at  such  a  loss  for  genuine 
communication,  and  that  most  of  what  we  do  receive  is  being  dumped  on  us 
by  the  same  few.  profit-driven  sources.  The  proliferation  of  new  technolo- 
gies has.  to  a  large  extent,  allowed  the  dominant  media  to  extend  its  influence 
over  the  world,  instead  of  allowing  a  more  diverse  collection  of  voices  to 
grow  and  develop.  And  far  from  becoming  a  place  where  people  from  diO'er- 
ent  cultures  can  gather  to  exchange  ideas,  the  intemet  is  rapidly  becoming  a 
place  where  American — and  to  a  lesser  extent.  Western  European — corpora- 
tions vie  to  spread  their  economic  and  cultural  influence  across  the  rest  of  the 
world.  Similarly,  the  increasing  conglomeration  of  the  radio  has  meant  that 
we  can  now  sit  back  and  enjoy  an  endless  repetition  of  Britney  Spears  melo- 
dies, broken  occasionally  by  commercials,  and  even  more  occasionally  by  a 
sound-bite  of  Bush  Jr.  or  Gore  complimenting  themselves  respectively  for 
the  increase  of  American  prosperity  and  democracy.  Television  continues  to 
become  more  and  more  comfortably  homogenous  and  pleasantly  vapid — 
I  both  in  the  content  (or  lack  thereot)  of  its  news  programs  and  the  mainly 
European  cast  of  characters  that  do  daily  grace  your  screen.  The  future  seems 
as  bright,  with  the  world's  largest  companies  rapidly  gobbling  each  other  up 
and  finding  new,  innovative  ways  of  preventing  competitors  and  individuals 
alike  from  gaining  access  to  the  public. 

For  all  this,  we  can  sing  the  praises  of  the  National  Association  of  Broad- 
casters (NAB).  In  the  past  few  years  especially,  they 
have  won  a  stunning  set  of  victories — most  of  them 
unreported  in  mainstream  (that  is,  their  own)  me- 
dia— to  safely  contain  the  threat  posed  by  new  me- 
dia, and  in  fact  to  use  it  to  deepen  their  own  oli- 
gopoly immensely.  There  are  few  groups  that  con- 
gress so  fears  (after  all,  they  can  restrict  access  to 
potential  voters),  or  is  as  pampered  by  than  the  NAB. 

If  nothing  else,  the  incredible  black-out  of  important  information  has 
meant  the  creation  of  a  new  underground  of  media  sites  and  infonnation 
outlets  that  choo.se  not  to  ignore  critical,  if  unprofitable,  news. 

Media  Alliance,  a  non-profit  group  founded  on  providing  information 
and  training  to  media  activists,  has  a  22-year  history  of  disagreeing  with  the 


NAB  and  other  representatives  of  the  privatized  media.  The  group  holds  in- 
structive classes  on  everything  from  improving  journalistic  skills,  to  setting 
up  a  web-page,  to  operating  specific  programs  like  Adobe  Photoshop  and 
PowerPoint.  In  addition,  they  organize  events,  produce  several  papers  and 
newsletters  (both  print  and  electronic),  and  hold  protests  to  raise  awareness 
of  these  issues  and  improve  media  literacy.  In  September,  they  helped  orga- 
nize a  largely  successful  three-day  protest  of  the  NAB's  annual  convention 
in  San  P-rancisco.  .Andrea  ButTa  is  the  executive  director  of  Media  Alliance, 
an  infomicd  journalist  and  outspoken  media  activist.  1  was  able  to  meet  up 
with  her  in  (October,  following  the  protests.  Interview  by  Eric  Zass. 

Clamor:  Tell  me  about  the  NAB — who  they  're  comprised  of.  what  their  goals 
are  and  how  they  go  about  fulfilling  them. 

Buffa:  Basically,  they've  been  around  as  long  as  the  Federal  Communications 
Commission.  They're  a  trade  association  and  lobbying  group  for  the  broad- 
casting industry.  So  their  members  are  comprised  of  smaller  individual  televi- 
sion and  radio  stations,  as  well  as  the  big  networks.  They  represent  the  interests 
of  the  large  networks,  generally.  The  innocuous  side  of  what  they  do  includes 
trade  shows  and  little  scholarship  programs — stuff  like  that.  The  really  horrible 
side  has  to  do  with  their  being  one  of  the  most  powerful  lobbying  groups  in  the 
United  States.  They  spend  millions  of  dollars  every  year  on  campaign  contri- 
butions and  lobbying  on  tela;ommunications  issues,  and  they've  achieved  a 

string  of  victories  on  behalf  of  the  big  corpo- 
rations they  represent  that  are  generally  detri- 
mental to  the  public  interest.  In  the  last  few 
years  especially,  in  1996  they  were  the  major 
backers  of  the  Telecommunications  Act.  One 
of  the  problems  with  that  act  is  that  it  lifted  a  ^^^^ 
lot  of  the  restrictions  on  multiple  ownership  '  ^— — ' 
by  one  company  of  many  radio  and  TV  stations  on  the  same  market.  They  were     ^V^ 
able  to  lobby  Congress  into  giving  them  the  entire  digital  television  spectrum —  him 
which  people  estimate  was  worth  about  70  million  dollars — for  free.  Lately, 
they've  been  lobbying  vigorously  against  low  power  FM  radio  and  are  work- 
ing in  the  Senate  right  now  to  totally  squash  that  measure.  We'll  find  out  about 
that  in  the  next  week.  They  managed  to  get  much  of  the  Faimess  Doctrine . 


People  who  have  immense  power 
don't  just  give  it  up.  They  have 
to  be  forced  to  give  it  up. 


Q> 


I  iiriih:  '  Juring  the  Reagan  era.  The  last  shred  of  that  Doctrine  the  equal 
lime  provision — was  voluntarily  lifted  by  the  FCC  this  week.  The  Fairness 
Docirine  was  a  piece  of  legislation  that  made  sure  that  there  was  st)me  kind  of 
faimess  in  broadcasting.  For  e.\ampie.  if  a  TV  station  u  ere  to  broadca.st  a  per- 
son from  one  political  viewpoint,  and  someone  else  from  the  opposing  view- 
point asked  to  respond,  you  were  supposed  to  provide  equal  time  for  that  re- 
sponse. That  doesn't  exist  anymore  at  this  point.  Pretty  much  what  the  NAB 
has  done  is  that  it  has  gotten  the  FCC  and  Congress  to  lift  any  public  interest 
requirement  whatsoever  on  radio  and  TV  stations.  It  used  to  be  thai  these  sta- 
tions actually  had  to  document  and  prove  that  they  were  serving  the  public 
interest  when  they  reapplied  for  a  license  from  the  FC"C.  Now  the  only  thing 
they  have  to  do  is  chtx)se  four  categories  in  w  hich 
their  content  supposedly  scr\  es  the  public  inter- 
est. So  KPIX  can  say,  "The  four  important  cat- 
egories of  the  public  interest  we've  chosen  to 
serve  are  children,  family,  seniors,  and  some- 
thing else."  Then  they  just  have  to  explain  how 
their  programs  are  directed  at  these  groups.  They 
can  say,  you  know,  "One  Ihoulivd  and  One  Dal- 
matians serves  the  children's  public  interest."  It's 
basically  all  bullshit.  They  don't  have  to  have 
any  local  news  at  all.  They  don't  have  to  ha%e 
any  public  affairs  programming.  Lois  of  com- 
mercial radio  stations  lia\c  totally  eliminated 
their  public  affairs  programming  altogether.  The 

stations  here  in  the  Bay  Area  if  they  have  any  public  affairs  programs  at  all — 
schedule  these  shows  in  the  middle  of  a  Saturday  or  Sunday  night  or  at  fi\  e  in 
the  moming  on  a  weekend  moming. 

H'hy'.'  Because  it  .V  not  sufficiently  projilahle? 


I  have  no  expectations  of  the 
FCC.  I  don't  think  any  govern- 
ment agency  has  ever  shown 
itself  to  be  a  friend  of  people 
who  want  to  diversify  and  dis- 
seminate power  into  the  hands 
of  the  general  public. 


public  will  be  getting  a  better  picture,  you  ha\  e  to  give  us  the  entire  spectrum 
for  free."  So  far,  there's  no  high  definition  tele\  ision.  Nobody  w  ants  to  buy  a 
new  television  set.  So  instead  of  broadcasting  one  high  definition  station, 
with  the  same  amount  of  spectrum,  they  can  broadcast  six  regular  stations. 
What  they'll  probably  end  up  doing  is  simply  creating  more  low  definition 
channels.  For  example,  on  channel  5  you'll  ha\  e  six  different  options.  Then 
they  can  actually  lease  part  of  their  share  of  the  spectrum  to  pager  and  cell 
phone  companies  and  make  money  off  the  spectrum  that  they  w  ere  gi\  en 
free  to  develop.  I  ha\  en't  been  able  yet  to  document  that  that's  happened.  So 
far,  we've  lost  all  the  money  that  we  could  have  charged  them  for  the  spec- 
trum. The  money  that  would  have  raised  could  ha\e  been  used  to  further 

independent  media  and  public  broadcasting. 
Instead,  we  ga\e  it  to  the  corporate  sector 
for  free  and  were  given  nothing  in  retum. 
What  they're  going  to  do.  of  course,  is 
squeeze  as  much  money  out  of  it  as  they 
can.  .And  there's  no  public  interest  require- 
ments on  it  at  all  right  now.  E\en  the 
children's  tele\  ision  stutT  Regular  tele\  ision 
is  supposed  to  designate  a  certain  number 
of  hours  to  children's  TV  -  w  hich  are  mainly 
commercials  masquerading  as  TV  shows 
anyway.  But  there  aren't  e\en  those  basic 
requirements  on  digital  TV  at  all  right  now. 


Is  that  because  of  ilie  ahanJonnieni  of  the  Fairness  Doctrine? 

No.  It's  because,  as  a  new  ser\  ice.  they  ha\  en't  yet  come  up  w  ith  new  public 
interest  requirements  for  it.  The  broadcasters  want  to  ha\c  no  requirements 
at  all. 


Yeah,  1  suppose  so.  I  think  it's  also  because  they  don't  want  the  public  to 
have  any  expectations  of  the  stations  to  prov  ide  them  w  ith  meaningful  infor- 
mation. They  want  the  public  to  think  their  only  obligation  is  gi\e  them  the 
same  music  all  the  time  and  that's  fine.  People  don't  even  know  anymore  that 
these  stations  are  supposed  to  ser\e  the  public  interest.  I  don't  think  they 
want  them  to  know  or  really  even  to  think  about  it.  A  lot  of  stations  used  to 
have  public  service  announcements  to  raise  awareness  about  local  events. 
Many  stations  don't  even  have  those  anyinore.  So  they  do  nothing  to  serve 
the  public  interest.  And  that's  the  NAB's  job:  getting  rid  of  those  regulations 
so  broadcasters  can  make  us  much  money  as  they  possibly  can. 

Can  you  talk  about  the  Telecommunications  Act  of  1996? 

It  was  a  nightmare.  I'hcrc  was  no  coverage  of  it  by  the  mainslrcaiii  media.  It 
basically  deregulated  the  radio  industry  entirely.  Since  llieii  there's  been  this 
incredible  consolidation  of  stations.  Big  companies  buying  up  sinallcr  ones. 
Now  we  have  these  massive,  massive  radio  conglomerates.  Before  the  Tele- 
communications Act  was  passed  the  largest  company  owned  about  45  stations. 
Now  the  largest.  Clear  Channel  Coinmunications  owns  900  stations.  They  did 
own  a  thousand,  biil  v\ere  forced  to  get  rid  of  some  of  thciii.  That  one  company, 
for  example,  controls  something  like  4.^^  percent  of  the  market-share  in  Cleve- 
land, and  .50  percent  of  the  market-share  in  Denver.  You  go  across  the  countrv 
and  this  single  company  controls  30  to  50  percent  of  the  market  in  almost  ev  cry 
major  city.  So  that's  one  company  dictating  lots  of  the  information — and  the 
music  that  people  in  this  country  arc  able  to  hear  This  is  why  we  hear  the 
same  M)  songs  on  the  radio  over  and  over  again.  And  you're  hearing  the  same 
st)ngs  and  getting  the  same  infomiation  in  every  major  city  as  well.  Then,  within 
each  market,  you  ha\  e  four  companies  that  basically  control  ev  erything.  In  San 
Francisco,  four  companies  control  SO  percent  of  the  radio  market.  And  we're 
actually  one  of  the  few  radii>  markets  that  has  altematives  we  have  KPF.A 
_  and  KP( )( )  and  a  few  other  fairly  independent  stations.  Most  other  cities  don't 

c  have  any  of  that.  It's  been  a  mess  in  tenns  of  dereuulation  and  the  number  of 

*^  ,  *" 

§■  owners  of  media  outlets.  The  digital  TV  thing  has  just  been  a  fiasco. 

o 

o 

Oi 

^  //(Ml  do  voii  tlnnk  thai  wilt  develop? 


flow  exactly  could  corporations  cut  off  access  to  the  web 's  infrastructure? 

fhere  are  a  bunch  of  difference  ways.  Right  now  most  people  dial  up  to  the 
intemet  through  a  phone  line.  But  as  the  amount  of  audio  and  video  on  the 
intemet  increases,  that  method  is  wav  too  slow.  Most  people  are  inoving  to- 
ward, or  will  move  toward,  a  high-speed  intemet  connection,  either  through 
broadband  cable,  through  DSL.  or  through  w  ireless.  Right  now  phone  lines 
and  DSL  are  federallv  regulated  to  be  common  carriers.  Thev  have  to  let  any 
intemet  service  provider  onto  the  phone  lines  to  get  you  to  the  intemet.  You  can 
choose  between  free  serv  ice.  ICiC.  Earthlink,  w hichever  sen  ice  vou  like.  You 
can  choose  an  ISP  that  gives  you  total  access  to  the  intemet.  or  an  ISP  that 
limits  your  access  and  supposedly  helps  v  ou  figure  things  out — like  .AOL,  for 
example.  Now,  w  hat  the  cable  companies  are  saying  is  that,  since  cable  is  not 
federally  but  locally  regulated,  they're  not  subject  to  common  carrier  regula- 
tions. They  feel  they  don't  ha\  e  to  giv  e  access  to  other  intemet  serv  ice  pix)v  id- 
ers.  So  if  you  get  a  high  speed  internet  serv  ice  through  cable,  vou  have  to  use 
their  hand-picked  intemet  serv  ice  prov  ider.  For  example,  if  you  get  access 
through  AT&T,  in  our  area,  you  have  to  u.se  Fxcite(«  homc.The  problem  here 
isn't  only  that  you  can  only  choose  their  chosen  service  and  you  have  to  pay 
w  hatev  er  thev  w  ant  to  charge.  The  larger  problem  is  that  thev  will  direct  you  to 
certain  content  on  the  internet,  and  thev  can  prevent  vou  from  getting  to  cenain 
content  as  well.  Right  now  thev  haven't  reached  the  point  wherc  they're  blcKk- 
ing  otVcertain  sites.  What  they  do  instead  is  they  hav  e  certain  agreements  with 
various  coinpanies.  If  a  companv  pays  them  more,  they  allow  quicker  access  to 
that  company's  site.  If  the  companv  doesn't  or  can't  pav.  thev  '11  give  you  slower 
access.  For  example,  if  Hxciie  has  an  agreement  with  Paramount  Pictua^s,  you 
may  be  able  \o  download  an  entire  feature  film  pretty  quicklv.  But  because  the 
Bav  Area  \'ideo  Coalition,  which  is  an  independent  v  idcM  collective,  can't  af- 
toid  to  pay  an  extra  fee  to  Excite(</  home,  you're  going  to  get  reallv  slow -going 
access  to  their  site.  That  encourages  people  to  go  to  the  fa.ster  sites,  which  can 
atVord  to  pav  more.  Ihats  where  things  are  headed  nght  now.  So  tar,  it  ha.sn't 
reached  the  point  where  you're  actually  pa'v  ented  from  getting  to  sites.  They're 
putting  up  speed-barriers,  basically,  and  creating  fast  lanes  and  slow  lanes. 
We'll  see  what  happens  fmm  there. 

But  how  \undd  thev  be  able  to  control  the  actual  aivhitectun' 


Well,  the  NAB  basically  said.  "We're  going  to  invest  all  this  money  creating 
this  new  technolouv.  Since  we're  uoinu  to  invest  all  of  this  monev.  and  the 


.Nciuallv.  m.inv  priv  ate  companies  do  now  control  the  aahitectua'  ol'the  intemet. 


[media] 


and  they  are  moving  to  make  it  increasingly  more  expensive  and  more  difficult 
to  put  up  a  website — especially  with  audio  and  video.  They'll  only  allow  you 
to  put  up  a  certain  amount  of  either.  It's  going  to  become,  I  believe,  something 
more  like  cable  where  you  have  a  bunch  of  glossy,  flashy  professional  stations, 
and  then  you  have  the  local  access  stations  which  are  not  professional  and 
nobody  looks  at  them.  The  infi"astructure  of  the  internet  will  likely  be  changed 
in  the  years  to  come  so  that  you  can  go  to  the  bigger,  professionally  done  sites. 
You'll  be  able  to  get  to  the  other  stuff,  too — but  it  will  look  really  shitty.  There's 
not  going  to  be  the  kind  of  choice  we  ha\  e  right  now  because  it  will  be  a  lot 
harder  and  more  expensive  for  an  indiv  idual  like  you  or  I  to  put  up  a  site  that 
meets  people's  expectations.  A  lot  of  people  are  upset  about  this — but  because 
it's  not  all  happening  nght  now.  it's  still  hard  for  people  to  imagine  that  it  e\  er 
will  happen.There's  a  professor  at  Stanford,  Lawrence  Lessig,  who  just  wrote 
a  sort  of  manifesto  about  internet  architecture,  and  how  the  architecture  itself 
should  be  allowed  to  distinguish  bet\s  een  ditTerent  types  of  content.  You  should 
check  out  his  writing.  It's  at  vvw  w.nogatekeepers.com. 

ll'luil  about  iliL'ir  relations  with  the  FCC? 

I  think  that  just  like  many  other  national  government  agencies  and  powerfiil 
lobbying  groups,  there's  a  revolving  door  between  the  FCC  and  the  NAB. 
Many  people  go  from  working  at  the  FCC  to  become  lobbyists  with  the  NAB. 
There're  a  lot  of  more  complicated  relationships,  too.  Right  now,  for  ex- 
ample, one  of  the  chief  spokesmen  for  the  NAB  is  Colin  Powell.  His  son. 
Michael  Powell,  is  one  of  the  five  FCC  commissioners.  Basically,  it  operates 
as  a  rev  olving  door. 

(f  the  FCC  does  go  ahead  and  license  low  power  stations,  how  would  that 
change  radio'.-' 

One  of  the  most  important  things  for  community  groups — especially  groups 
and  people  v\  ith  a  more  radical  political  perspective — is  to  control  some  por- 
tion of  the  infrastructure  of  the  telecommunications  system.  Actually  having 
your  own  media — your  own  radio  station  or  webpagc — is  one  way  of  doing 
that.  It's  far  better  than  getting  a  story  on  what  you're  doing  into  a  more 
publicized  mainstream  outlet.  \'ou  actually  get  to  control  the  media.  In  tenns 
of  getting  to  understand  and  operate  a  small  part  of  the  broadcasting  infra- 
structure, it's  extremely  important.  It  also  means  that,  if  these  low  power 
stations  work,  we  could  argue  with  the  FCC  that  there's  actually  room  for 
more,  and  maybe  potential  for  digital  micro-telev  ision. 

It's  pretty  obvious  that  low  power  radio  stations  would  be  important 
for  the  community  and  neighborhoods.  They  would  give  people  access  to 
music  and  infonnation  that  they're  not  getting  right  now — whether  local  bands, 
or  broadcasting  community  meetings,  announcing  local  events,  or  w  hatcv  cr 


A  lot  of  church  groups  have  applied  for  stations.  I've  w  orked  a  lot  on  Pacifica 
radio  issues  and  KPFA  radio.  A  lot  of  people  who  weren't  previously  familiar 
with  the  station  will  say,  "I  was  flipping  through  the  dial,  and  all  the  sudden 
I  heard  somebody  talking  about  something  that  I'd  never  heard  discussed 
before,  and  I  was  totally  transfonned  by  that  moment."  I  think  that,  because 
there  would  be  more  stations  with  more  diverse  content,  that  we'll  have  sta- 
tions disseminating  information  that  people  wouldn't  otherwise  hear  unless 
they  were  to  seek  it  out,  there  would  be  more  opportunities  for  people  to 
come  upon  this  stuff  by  chance,  and  be  transformed  by  it.  That's  really  im- 
portant. .A.lso.  if  community  groups  that  are  politically  active  could  get  a  hold 
of  some  of  these  stations  that  they  could  actually  use  them  as  an  organizing 
tool.  If  we  had  a  micro-radio  station  here  that  people  were  tuning  into,  we 
could  tell  everybody  "This  week  we're  targeting  Macromedia  and  their  de- 
velopment of  a  new  headquarters  in  the  Mission.  Everybody  get  down  there 
and  protest."  There's  potential  for  that,  too. 

How  large  would  the  range  be  for  these  low  power  stations? 

They're  10-  to  100-watt  stations.  That  would  be  about  a  one  to  five  mile 
radius.  Pretty  small. 

Is  there  any  legitimacy  to  NPR  and  NAB  s  claims  that  low  power  would  inter- 
fere with  other  public  interest  stations — like  reading  ser\ices  for  the  blind  or 
aviation  signals? 

No.  It's  all  bullshit.  If  you  look  back  to  what  NAB  was  saying  at  the  begin- 
ning of  their  argument,  they  didn't  mention  anything  about  reading  services 
for  the  blind.  They  were  saying  that  it  would  interfere  with  their  stations. 
When  that  argument  was  proven  false,  they  w  ent  to  their  reading  services  for 
the  blind  excuse.  The  fact  is  that  most  of  the  reading  serv  ices  for  the  blind 
stations  are  in  the  non-commercial  part  of  the  radio  band — the  low  er  num- 
bers. .All  of  the  new  low  power  FM  stations  would  be  in  the  commercial 
portion  of  the  spectaim.  There  may  be  a  handful  of  cases  where  they  would 
be  in  the  same  portion  of  the  spectrum,  and  the  FCC  has  already  said  that 
they  wouldn't  allow  new  stations  to  interfere  with  their  signal  in  any  way.  I 
think  it's  lotallv'  a  red  herring  and  it's  just  despicable. 

Same  with  aviation? 

Nobody's  even  taking  that  part  of  their  argument  seriously.  It's  just  absurd. 

iVhat  were  the  initial  objectives  for  the  September  20-23  protests? 

To  spotlight  corporate  ownership  of  the  media.  To  turn  people  on  to  the 

fact  that  there  are  alternative  media  beint;  formed.  And  to  build  momen- 


The  National  Association  of  Broadcasters 


The  National  Association  of  Broadcasters  (NAB),  founded  in  1923.  is  both  a 
trade  organization  providing  services  for  its  members — 8,000  commercial  radio 
and  television  stations — and  a  lobbying  behemoth. 

While  organization  vaguely  boasts  commercial  broadcasters'  community  ser- 
vice role,  they  are  clearly  more  interested  in  preserving  broadcast  owners'  mo- 
nopoly on  the  media  (and  their  revenue  streams).  The  NAB's  lobbying  efforts  and 
prowess  rank  them  amongst  the  best  (or  worst).  For  instance,  in  1998.  before  the 
current  political  fight  for  Low-Power  FM,  the  NAB  spent  $5.2  million  on  lobbying 
alone,  which  made  them  the  35th  highest  spender  (Center  for  Responsive  Poli- 
tics). The  NAB  aggressively  continues  their  efforts  to  expand  private  ownership  of 
public  airwaves  allowing  them  to  brag  about  how  they  recently  "quashed  attempts 
by  the  Clinton  Administration  and  some  in  Congress  to  include  new  analog  TV 
spectrum  fees  in  the  2000  Budget  saving  the  industry  $200  million."  In  October 
William  Satire  wrote,  "In  terms  of  ripping  off  the  taxpayers  with  not  a  peep  from 
the  media,  nothing  compares  with  the  broadcasters'  lobby.  This  phalanx  of  free- 
loaders has  stolen  the  free  use  of  great  chunks  of  the  most  valuable  natural  re- 
source of  the  information  age." 

In  January  2000  the  FCC  announced  their  plan  to  start  licensing  Low-Power 
FM  (LPFM)  stations,  10  to  100  watt  broadcast  stations  that  allow  local  groups  to 
reach  a  community's  needs,  and  in  some  instances  entire  communities,  underserved 


by  commercial  radio,  and  since  then  the  NAB  has  been  waging  an  all-out  offen- 
sive against  LPFM.  The  NAB  started  their  lobbying  efforts  with  a  compact  disc 
that  simulated  interference  between  stations — interference  that  NAB  claimed 
would  occur  if  LPFM  stations  were  allowed  on  the  air.  FCC  chairman  William 
Kennard  called  the  NAB's  compact  disc  "a  misrepresentation  of  the  engineer- 
ing facts,"  and  stated  that  the  broadcasters  are  simply  afraid  of  competition. 
Nevertheless,  the  NAB  succeeded  in  getting  the  House  of  Representatives  to 
pass  a  bill  (HR  3439)  that  would  essentially  kill  LPFM.  Fortunately,  they  failed 
to  gain  the  necessary  number  of  votes  in  the  Senate  (based  largely  on  efforts  by 
John  McCain,  chairman  of  the  Senate  Commerce  Committee — in  August  McCain 
introduced  an  alternate  bill  (S  2989),  co-sponsered  by  Bob  Kerrey,  that  permits 
the  introduction  LPFM  and  addresses  any  potential  interference  issues).  Un- 
daunted, the  NAB  IS  currently  attempting  to  tuck  provisions  (riders)  in  spending 
bills  that  would  accomplish  their  goal  of  killing  LPFM. 
-BabakRastgoufard 


Sources;  Associated  Press,  Center  for  Responsive  Politics,  National  Association 
of  Broadcasters,  New  York  Times,  San  Francisco  Bay  Guardian,  San  Francisco 
Chronicle 


Branding  the  Cash  Cow  for  Milk  IVIoney 

Andrew  Cornell  Critiques  the  Dairy  Council's  Successful  Campaign 


As  ESPN  cut  to  a  commercial  duiHng  the  skateboard  finals  of  this  year's 
X  Cjames,  a  voice  over  announced,  "The  X  Games  are  sponsored  by  Milk. 
With  nine  essential  vitamins.  Got  Milk?"  "Whoa,  whoa,  whoa!"  I  thought. 
Maybe  I  even  yelled  it  at  the  TV.  It  seemed  absurd.  Hell,  it  was  absurd.  We 
all  know  that  companies  sponsor  concerts,  athletes,  TV  shows,  and  just 
about  everything  else  imaginable  these  days.  We  accept  that,  for  better  or 
worse,  as  a  fact  of  life.  We  also  know  brand  name  products  enough  to  rec- 
ognize that  when  the  bass-heavy  voice  of  the  announcer  says  that  "The  Real 
World"  (or  whatever  other  lame  show  you  are  watching)  is  "brought  to  you 
by  Pepsi,"  they  mean  that  the  Pepsi  Corporation  shelled  out  the  bucks.  But 
brought  to  you  by  milk?  Indeed,  it  was  tnie.  Later  that  night  I  found  out  that 
milk  also  sponsors  the  VH-I  show  "Don't  Quote  Me!"  and  a  number  of 
other  programs. 

Since  when,  you  might  ask,  can  an  inanimate  animal  product  like  milk 
pump  cash  into  a  commercial  sporting  event  or  TV  show?  The  answer,  it 
seems  clear,  is  since  milk  became  a  brand.  Since  milk,  the  coinmon  noun, 
became  Milk'^^',  the  soon-to-be  trade-marked  proper 
noun.  And  that  has  been  slowly  happening  over  the 
last  seven  years,  right  under  our  noses  (you  know, 
where  you  get  a  mustache)! 

In  No  Logo,  Naomi  Klein  writes  that  in  the  early 
1990s,  nearly  every  corporation  producing  consumer 
goods  for  consumption  in  the  U.S.  realized  that  the 
key  to  making  money  was  selling  a  more  compelling 
brand,  not  a  better  product.  To  sell  a  brand,  compa- 
nies create  an  image  for  their  products  -  a  personality 
that  a  consumer  identifies  with  and  tries  to  claim  as 
his  or  her  own,  in  part  by  buying  the  company's  prod- 
ucts. 

By  1993,  even  dairy  farmers  had  caught  on  to 
this  marketing  trend.  Ever  since,  they've  been  suc- 
cessfully morphing  their  product  -  traditionally  one 
of  the  most  local  and  generic  available  -  to  a  high 
profile,  competitive  brand  replete  with  a  spunky  personality  of  its  own. 

Milk  is  usually  produced  by  regional  dairies  that  homogenize,  carton 
and  ship  it  to  local  supennarkcts.  Milk  consumers  have  traditionally  had 
little  choice  in  what  brand  they  buy.  And  for  the  most  part  they  didn't  care. 


was  virtually  indistinguishable  fi-om  that  of  another.  So  the  only  decision  to 
be  made  was  whether  to  buy  I"'©,  Skim,  or  Vitamin  D. 

Milk  producers  were  taking  a  beating  in  sales  in  the  1 990s.  They  had  to 
compete  with  giant  soda  retailers  and  trendy  new  brands  of  sports  drinks  and 
bottled  fruit  juice  (whatever  happened  to  Snapple,  anyway?).  Individual  milk 
producers  had  no  mouthpiece  with  which  to  convince  consumers  that  milk 
was  a  cooler,  healthier,  more  satisfying  beverage  choice  than  these  other 
options.  They  didn't  use  advertising  to  compete  with  other  brands  of  milk 
because  there  were  no  brands.  Roeloff  Dairy,  the  farm  that  supplied  cartons 
of  milk  to  my  high  school  cafeteria  and  local  supcmiarket,  never  tried  to 
create  an  image  for  itself  write  a  catchy  jingle,  a  funny  slogan  or  create 
flashy  packaging  to  catch  the  attentions  of  shoppers. 

To  recapture  a  significant  share  of  the  beverage  market,  milk  producers 
realized  their  product  too  needed  to  speak  to  consumers*  desires.  They  needed 
to  explain  what  type  of  people  drink  milk.  However,  dairies  remained  too 
small  to  each  spend  millions  of  dollars  to  create  indi\  idual  highly  competi- 
tive corporate  identities,  each  tr\  ing  to  out-cool  one  an- 
other. So  milk  producers  decided  to  take  the  opposite  tack 
of  competitors  in  other  industries.  Ingeniously,  they  banded 
together  and  infused  the  Dairy  Council  of  California  with 
money  for  what  has  become  one  of  the  most  popular  me- 
dia campaigns  of  the  decade:  "Got  Milk?"  The  campaign 
was  so  successful  on  the  West  Coast  that  it  soon  went  na- 
tional. 

Milk  now  has  its  own  catchphrase,  its  own  fonllogo 
and  hundreds  of  celebrity  endorsements — from  the  Di.xie 
Chicks  to  Pennsylvania  Go\ernor  Tom  Ridge  to  the 
cast(aways)  of  Survivor,  all  donning  overdone  milk  mus- 
taches in  the  ads. 

The  "Got  Milk?"  campaign  is  o\  erwhclmingly  success- 
ful because  it  casts  milk  drinking  as  the  thmg  to  do  at  ev- 
ery stage  in  life.  The  milk  mustaches  imply  that  by  drink- 
ing milk  the  consumer  can  regain  or  celebrate  their  youth- 
ful playfulness.  At  the  same  time,  milk  is  the  healthy,  smart,  adult  choice 
since  it  contains  "9  Essential  Nutrients."  What's  more,  the  idea  that  milk  is 
something  people  crave,  buy  impulsively  and  choose  o\  cr  name  brand  drinks 
like  Mountain  Dew  gi\  es  it  the  essential  air  of  hipness  that  marketers  need  to 


Each  grocery  store  carried  one  type  of  milk,  and  the  product  of  one  dair\'      capture  the  critical  global  teen  market.  With  one  well  executed  ad  campaign. 


Andrea  Buffa  •  Media  Alliance,  continued 

turn  for  a  media  democracy  movement.  I  think  w  c  did  all  those  things.  It 
was  really  exciting  to  be  part  of  it.  I  think  e\cryonc  who  was  a  part  of 
the  action  felt  really  good  about  what  we  accomplished.  In  terms  of 
movement  building,  it  was  really  great.  We  had  folks  here  from  New 
York  and  Austin.  Texas  and  West  Virginia — just  all  over  the  place.  We 
made  some  good  connections,  raised  awareness.  We  received  no  cover- 
age from  the  mainstream  media.  It  was  a  total  blackout.  There  were  a 
few  mmor  pieces  in  the  San  Francisco  Exammer  mainly  about  the 
National  Lawyers'  Guild  attorneys  who  were  arrested  for  trying  to  see 
their  clients  at  the  courthouse,  but  nothing  about  the  actual  demonstra- 
tions. So.  t  was  bad  in  that  sense.  In  lernis  of  nuncmcnt  building,  it  was 
great.  We  got  on  lots  of  community  radio  stations  and  were  able  to  talk 
about  media  democracy  and  put  it  out  there  on  the  radar  screen.  In  that 
way.  it  was  really  successful. 

Do  volt  lliink  any  allcniion  Irani  the  I'CC  or  niayhc  even  congress'.'  Any 
feedback. ' 

I  don't  know  about  congress.  I  know  that  there  w  ere  many  FCC  staff  people 
at  the  NAB  convention.  They  certainly  saw  the  protests  outside.  We  handed 

[med 


out  lots  of  fl\  ers  to  con\  ention-goers.  1  know  that  there  w  ere  a  number  in  the 
room  w  hen  I  jumped  up  and  grabbed  the  microphone. 

What  did  you  say?  ll  wasn't  reported  in  what  I  read.  I'd  only  heard  that 
someone  had  grabbed  the  microphone  during  the  convention. 

I  said.  "Em  here  on  behalf  of  the  free  speech  protesters.  The  ain\  a\  es  belong 
to  the  public,  not  to  corporations!"  and  then  [cups  her  hand  o\er  her  mouth] 
security  slapped  a  hand  o\er  in\  mouth  and  dragged  me  away — as  I  kept 
yelling. 

Here  you  lailcd? 

Nope.  I  was  just  thrown  out  of  the  Moscone  Center — carried  out  by  a  secu- 
rity guard.  What  w  as  exciting  too  is  that  we  made  our  ow  n  media.  \\'e  had  an 
independent  media  center  that  was  based  here  at  Media  Alliance.  We  had  a 
radio  station  streaming  content  onto  the  intemet  24  hours  a  da>.  We  wrote 
articles  about  w  hat  was  happening.  V\e  had  a  lot  of  photos  and  \  ideo.  We  got 
lots  of  hits  on  our  website.  Lots  of  people  saw  what  was  going  on  through  the 
media  that  we  created. 

ia] 


the  act  of  purchasing  a  carton  of  milk  is  now  proof  that  the  buyer  is  full  of 
youthful  playfulness,  teenage  trendiness  and  adult  practicality. 

Perhaps  the  best  indicator  of  just  how  successful  the  ad  campaign  has 
become  is  the  deluge  of  imitations  and  parodies.  First  came  the  disturbingly 
se.xist  shirts  depicting  large  breasted  bikini  clad  women  who  lent  new  mean- 
ing to  the  "Got  Milk?"  slogan.  Adbusters  magazine  made  a  "Got  Soy?"  parody 
and  the  United  Steelworkers  of  America  sold  "Got  Union?"  shirts  at  its  2000 
International  Convention.  Perhaps  the  most  well-known  takeoflfs  have  been 
People  for  the  Ethical  Treatment  of  Animals"  attempts  to  dissuade  people 
from  drinking  milk  with  "Got  Beer?  and  "Got  Prostate  Cancer?"  billboards, 
both  of  which  were  harshly  criticized  and  quickly  removed. 

The  overwhelming  success  of  the  "Got  Milk?"  campaign  should  be  a 
warning  signal  for  activists  fighting  the  ever-increasing  influence  of  corpo- 
rate advertising  on  our  culture  and  personal  thoughts.  The  skyrocketing  prof- 
its attributed  to  the  "Got  .Milk?"  ads  will  likely  encourage  producers  of  other 
generic  ingredients  and  food  staples  to  replicate  the  Dairy  Council's  strategy. 
At  a  time  when  sports  teams  play  in  stadiums  named  after  banks  and  suppos- 
edly alternative  or  rebellious  youth  cultures  are  officially  sponsored  by  shoe 
companies,  branding  basic  food  ingredients  and  other  generic  items  is  one 
more  giant  leap  towards  an  advertising  saturated  and  completely  cross-mar- 
keted world.  It"s  a  claustrophobic  world  where  we  can't  avoid  manipulative 
inducements  to  shop  and  consume,  and  a  world  in  which  any  organic  idea, 
authentic  emotion  or  inspired  creative  outpouring  will  be  harnessed  and 
warped  to  sell  goods  and  serv  ices. 

The  Dairy  Council  will  argue  that  they  ha\  e  no  choice  but  to  brand  their 
product,  since  it's  necessary  to  survive  in  the  cur- 
rent commercial  climate.  While  the  ads  undoubt- 
edly bring  in  more  sales,  it's  unlikely  that  people 
would  stop  consuming  milk  without  them.  My  point 
is  not  to  put  dairy  producers  at  a  competitive  dis- 
advantage to  other  brand  retailers  like  soda  manu- 
facturers by  refusing  them  the  right  to  develop  a 
brand:  instead,  my  point  is  to  attack  all  branded 
items  and  the  advertising  industry  in  order  to  re- 
duce our  consumption  of  all  products  to  times  when 
we  need  or  autonomously  want  them  and  not  con- 
sume them  out  of  the  impulsiveness  of  manufac- 
tured desires.  Milk,  until  the  current  campaign  be- 
gan, was  a  good  example  of  that  more  natural  mode 
of  consumption. 

While  it  is  disturbing  enough  that  advertising  executives  are  creating 
branded  identities  around  food  staples,  the  milk  campaign  signals  a  number 
of  additional  distressing  developments  in  the  ways  advertisers  attempt  to 
manipulate  us  into  buying  their  clients'  products.  First,  dozens  of  celebrities 
agreed  to  appear  in  the  ads.  donning  silly  white  mustaches  without  compen- 


The  overwhelming  success  of 
the  "Got  Milk?''  campaign 
should  be  a  warning  signal 
for  activists  fighting  the  ever- 
increasing  influence  of  corpo- 
rate advertising  on  our  cul- 
ture and  personal  thoughts. 


sation.  smug  in  the  belief  that  they  were  using  their  mass  appeal  as  a  public 
service  to  convince  people  young  and  old  to  drink  healthy,  wholesome 
milk.  Putting  aside  animal  rights  issues  and  the  emerging  evidence  that 
milk  is  not  neariy  as  healthy  as  prev  iously  claimed,  these  celebrities  ha\  e 
unwittingly  played  a  part  in  fiirther  branding  the  mental  environment  for 
the  private  profit  of  an  industry.  It  would  be  positive  for  a  famous  athlete  or 
leading  politician  to  say.  "Drink  what  is  healthy,  not  what  has  the  flashiest 
ad."  but  in  the  case  of  the  milk  campaign,  they're  simply  helping  to  make 
more  flashy  ads  and  helping  advertisers  to  fiirther  dominate  our  lives  and 
thinking. 

Most  alanning  of  all  is  the  fact  that  events  and  programs  like  the  .\ 
Games  are  now  willing  to  claim  to  be  sponsored  not  just  by  a  company,  or 
by  a  trademarked  brand-name  product,  but  by  anything  at  all.  Gillette  spon- 
sors events,  or  the  Gillette  Mach  3  Razor  sponsors  an  event,  but  razors  in 
general  don't  sponsor  events.  If  the  Dairy  Council  can  fund  an  event  and 
leave  its  name  completely  out  of  the  picmre,  instead  claiming  that  milk 
sponsored  the  event,  producers  in  other  industries  will  seek  similar  oppor- 
tunities, leading  to  branding  campaigns  even  more  deceptive  and  manipu- 
lative than  the  current  ones. 

Ev  ery  day  objects  in  our  lives  become  de  facto  brands  when  they  are 
associated  closely  enough  with  company  or  industry  promotions.  When 
these  mental  relationships  are  cemented  in  consumers'  minds,  the  mention 
of  any  type  of  good  becomes  an  immediate  advertisement  for  the  brand 
name  product.  The  gotmilk.com  Web  site  brags  of  this  already  happening 
with  small  children.  "We've  even  heard  from  consumers  that  their  kids 
come  into  the  kitchen,  cookie  in  hand,  asking 
for  a  "glass  of  got  milk?"  Thinking  about  milk 
equals  thinking  about  "Got  Milk?,"  including 
all  the  aforementioned  market  techniques  that 
induce  someone  to  drink  milk.  This  might  seem 
innocuous  enough  in  the  case  of  milk,  but  the 
prospects  of  it  as  the  newest  marketing  trend 
are  chilling.  If  IKEA  began  an  analogous  cam- 
paign around  chairs  and  was  successful,  the  com- 
ment, "You  can  sit  on  the  couch  or  in  the  chair," 
would  become  an  advertisement  for  IKEA.  Then 
come  companies  that  prov  ide  services.  What  if 
cruise  lines  built  a  campaign  based  on  their  ca- 
pacity to  provide  romance? 
Are  we  likely  to  see  flour  and  sugar  get  catchy  radio  jingles  of  their 
own?  Are  we  going  to  be  carpet-bombed  with  rock  stars  endorsing  tarra- 
gon and  other  cooking  spices?  Will  roofing  nails  and  reams  of  paper  sud- 
denly reflect  the  personal  convictions  and  lifestyle  choices  of  the  people 
who  use  them'.'  I'll  bet  money  on  it  unless  we  quickly  develop  an  effective 
resistance  mov  ement  to  the  corporate  branding  attack.  Got  spray  paint?  if 


What  do  you  think  we  can  expect  from  the  FCC? 

Nothing.  1  have  no  expectations  of  the  FCC.  I  don't  think  any  government 
agency  has  ever  shown  itself  to  be  a  friend  of  people  who  want  to  diversify 
and  disseminate  power  into  the  hands  of  the  general  public.  We  lucked  out 
with  the  FCC  in  that  Chainnan  William  Kennard  got  pissed  ofT  about  the 
consolidation  of  the  radio  industry  due  to  the  Telecommunications  Act.  He 
saw  low  power  FM  as  a  way  to  allow  minority  broadcasters  into  the  system. 
But  Kennard  is  not  great  at  all.  There's  discussion  going  on  right  now  on 
access  to  high  speed  internet  connections.  It's  an  issue  at  stake  in  the  Time 
Wamer/AOL  merger  He's  not  doing  anything  on  that,  and  he  probably  won't 
do  anything  about  that.  It  could  unfortunately  lead  to  the  infrastructure  of  the 
world  wide  web  becoming  something  ver^'  different  from  what  it  is  right 
now.  It  would  allow  corporations  to  basically  close  it  off.  I  expect  the  next 
FCC  Chair,  who  will  appointed  by  the  next  president,  will  be  worse.  If  you 
look  at  it  historically,  the  FCC  has  almost  never  opposed  the  interests  of  the 
NAB.  The  FCC  commissioners  that  have  tried  hav  e  paid  a  heavy  price  for 
doing  so. 


//  doesn  't  seem  that  protesting  the  FCC  is  going  to  make  much  of  a  difference 


[media] 


since  they're  so  closely  aligned  with  the  XAB.  What  do  you  see  as  the  best 
way  to  get  these  issues  raised? 

I  think  that  what  we  need  is  a  media  democracy  movement  that  is  connected 
with  the  other  social  justice  mov  ements  that  are  growing  in  the  United  States — 
like  the  anti-corporate  globalization  movement,  the  movement  against  the 
prison-industrial  complex.  People  who  have  immense  power  don't  just  give 
it  up.  They  have  to  be  forced  to  give  it  up.  The  people  who  don't  have  the 
money  to  lobby  extensively,  do  have  the  numbers — and  we're  far  more  cre- 
ative and  intelligent.  We  need  actions  that  are  actually  going  to  force  the 
powers  that  be  to  give  up  some  of  the  media  system's  infrastnicture  to  us.  At 
the  same  time.  1  think  we  need  to  create  our  ow n  viable  alternatives — which 
people  are  doing  by  putting  together  the  independent  media  centers  and  by 
starting  micro-radio  stations  and  micro  TV  stations.  We're  creating  a  w  hole 
independent  media  system  to  parallel  the  corporate  media,  if 


Andrea  Biijja  and  Media  Alliance  can  he  reached  at:  814  Mission  Street. 
Suite  205.  San  Francisco,  CA  94103  /  (415)  546-6334  /  FAX  (415)  546- 
62 1 8  /  info@media-alliance.org  /  www.media-alliance.org 


OD 


A  few  years  back.  I  shared  an  apartment  with  a  guy  named  John. 
Joiin  was  a  Star  Wars  fanatic.  Before  moving  into  that  apartment,  I'd 
seen  all  three  Star  Wars  movies  a  few  times  and  litccd  them,  but  I  ne%  er 
thought  too  much  about  them.  Right  after  the  original  Star  Wars  had 
come  out.  1  had  a  baby-sitter  wht)  had  sketched  Luke  Skywalker  over 
a  hundred  times.  Most  of  the  sketches  showed  Luke  holding  the  light 
saber  in  front  of  his  face,  blue  eyes  staring  intently,  hair  feathered  per- 
fectly. After  that,  I  thought  of  Star  Wars  fanatics  as  pimply,  teenage 
girls  who  couldn't  get  dates  so  they'd  spend  Friday  nights  yelling  at 

seven-year-old 
boys  and  draw- 
ing pictures  of 
*  really    bad 

actors. 


but  I'm  talking  about  epics  that  people  not  only  know,  but  memorize,  and 
how  many  people  in  our  culture  really  know  the  Bible?  If  people  say  they 
do,  ask  them  about  the  part  where  Rebecca  lies  on  her  back  with  her 
servant  on  top  of  her  and  her  husband  fucking  her  servant.  I  guarantee 
they  won't  recognize  that  part  of  the  book.  For  a  while,  it  looked  like 
America  would  never  have  its  Iliad  or  Odyssey.  Then,  in  1977.  Star  Wars 
came  out.  Everyone  saw  it.  Everyone  memorized  it.  It  exemplified  Ameri- 
can values  and  allowed  those  values  to  be  passed  down  through  genera- 
tions. Now  we  can  study  it  and  understand  what  those  American  values 
really  are. 

The  first  Star  Wars  movie  is  easy  to  dissect.  A  lot  has  changed  in  our 
society  since  1977,  and  hindsight  brings  lucidity.  The  plot  is  classically 
American.  You  have  an  ail-American  kid,  blond  hair,  blue  eyes,  working 
on  a  fann.  The  farm  is  on  a  planet  called  Tatooine.  I'm  not  sure  what 


I've  Got  A  Bad  Feelinj 

The  Phantom  Menace  and  the  StarWan\ 
I  could've  accepted  the  plot  parallels  between  1( 
selves.  I  could've  accepted  the  parallels  betwei 
those  parallels  had  existed  by  themselves.  Wher 
my  local  library,  checked  out  the  Phantom  Mena\ 
efy.  What  I  found  shocked  and  amazed  me. 


John,  though,  helped  me  to  see  the  light. 

John  was  definitely  an  atypical  Star  Wars  fanatic.  He  was  an  ex- 
Marine,  a  veteran  of  the  Gulf  War,  and  the  most  competent  man  around 
women  who  I've  ever  met.  To  call  John  a  womanizer  or  a  player  would 
demean  his  artistry.  John  never  lied  to  or  misled  women.  He  was  never 
cruel  or  condescending  in  any  way.  He  dated  more  women  over  the 
course  of  two  years  than  most  men  date  in  a  lifetime,  and  I  never  heard 
any  of  them  call  him  an  asshole.  He  was  just  a  cool,  confident  guy  who 
never  passed  on  an  opportunity  to  ask  out  an  attracti\e  woman.  He 
was  kind  of  like  a  living  Fonz,  only  without  the  whole  30-something 
man-hanging-out-with-high-school-kids  creepiness  about  him.  Yet,  he 
still  had  a  three-foot  plastic  Darth  Vadar  in  his  closet.  -  in  the  original 
packaging,  next  to  a  box  full  of  Obi-Wans,  Stonntroopers  (regular  and 
white-capcd  for  the  snow),  Luke  Skywalkers  (regular  and  Jedi-robed). 
Princess  Lcias,  Boba  Fetts,  and  so  on.  He  hung  Star  Wars  posters  on 
the  walls  of  our  living  room.  He  watched  the  trilogy  with  women  whom 
he  thought  he  might  get  serious  with.  He  watched  the  movies  alone. 
Often.  It  baffied  me.  I  had  to  understand.  1  started  watching  with  him. 
I  asked  questions,  and  he  filled  me  in  on  the  back  story.  He  knew  all 
the  trivia  about  every  sound  effect  and  every  planet  and  every  charac- 
ter. Gradually,  I  came  to  understand. 

Before  written  languages,  oral  cultures  passed  down  epic  talcs. 
Everyone  in  the  culture  memorized  the  epic  and,  in  that  way,  the  cul- 
ture passed  its  values  down  through  the  generations.  We  also  can  learn 
a  great  deal  about  ancient  cultures  by  studying  their  epics.  I  lumanities 
classes  help  us  through  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey  and.  through  them, 
we  learn  about  ancient  (ireek  values.  We  understand  ancient  Cireck 
navigatK)nal  patterns  and  sexual  practices  and  warring  tactics.  We  un- 
derstand ancient  Greek  governmental  systems  and  religions.  We  can 
then  move  on  to  the  Aeneid  and  figure  out  what  the  Roman  Empire 
copied  from  the  Greeks  and  what  tlie\  held  important  on  their  own. 
We  can  learn  a  great  deal  about  Middle  Ages  England  from  Arthurian 
legend.  If  we  do  enough  research,  we  can  find  similar  epic  tales  that 
existed  everywhere  from  Ireland  to  Japan.  But  no  true  American  epic 
ever  existed.  Longfellow  irieil  it  with  his  poem  Hiawatha,  but  it  ilidn't 
realK  catch  on  ,\nd  sumc  could  s.i\  ih.ii  the  Bible  is  (Hir  defining  epic. 


language  the  word  Tatooine  comes  from,  but  I  know  that  it's  a  place  w  ith 
wide  open  spaces  that  make  everything  look  dead.  The  people  there 
struggle  to  grow  food  in  overworked  soil.  Weird  people  dri\e  around  in 
big.  rust-colored  trucks  and  sell  junk  fami  equipment  that  often  breaks 
down  before  you  get  it  home.  And  dangerous  people  live  in  the  hills  and 
they  may  just  shoot  you  for  driving  through  their  towns.  All  of  this  leads 
me  to  believe  that  Tatooine  translates  to  the  stereotype  of  the  Midwest. 
So  in  this  stereotypical  Midwest  is  this  ail-American  boy  who  just  wants 
to  go  into  town  to  buy  power  converters  (which  may  or  ma\  not  be  a 
Holley  carburetor),  when,  out  of  nowhere,  a  war  is  thrust  upon  him  and 
he  has  no  choice  other  than  to  fight  it.  First,  he  needs  a  team,  so  he  joins 
up  w  ith  a  small  time  punk  who  has  a  fast  ride  and  loves  to  work  on  it,  and 
the  punk's  budd\.  a  long-haired  guy  who  doesn't  sa\  much,  just  hangs 
around  and  helps  out  in  fights.  The  Midwest  fami  boy  and  his  tw  o  greaser 
buddies  then  go  ofTto  war. 

The  bad  guy  is  Darth  Vadar.  \'o\i  can  tell  he's  a  bad  guy  because  he's 
trying  to  take  over  the  Midwest,  just  like  the  So\iet  I'nion  was  trying  to 
do  in  the  '70s  (according  to  most  people  who  li\ed  in  the  Midwest  in  the 
'70s).  So  the  blue-eyed,  blond  fami  boy  and  the  two  greasers  pick  up  a 
broad,  fuck  around  in  their  hot  rod  for  a  w  hile,  then  get  down  to  the  busi- 
ness of  killing  e\eryone  in  the  evil  empire.  It's  a  simple  Cold  War  talc.  It 
reads  like  a  National  Securit\  Council  document  from  the  I95()s.  Good  is 
pureh  good.  E\il  is  purely  e\il.  E\crvone  leaves  feeling  happ>  that  the 
good  guys  spent  all  their  money  buying  elaborate  weapons. 

The  Empire  Strikes  Back  continues  the  Cold  War  m\  th.  going  so  far 
as  to  begin  on  a  planet  that  is  all  ice.  and  ending  with  a  main  character 
frozen.  Return  of  the  Jedi  admits  that  the  Cold  War  has  begun  to  thaw. 
Out  of  the  ice  surfaces  cuddl>  creatures  that  appeal  more  to  the  lucrative 
children's  market,  and  we  all  get  stuck  watching  what  seems  like  a  Disney 
ending.  It  was  a  fitting  way  to  swing  us  intt)  the  Reagan  years  full  of 
national  pride,  lots  of  weapons,  and  unbridled  consumerism.  Hindsight 
makes  all  of  this  easy  to  sec.  What  seemed  to  be  hidden  deeply  in  the 
camouflage  of  the  day  is  now  glaringlv  obv  ious  in  the  same  way  that  it's 
glaringly  obvious  now  that  Ronald  Reagan  wasn't  really  a  president  as 
much  as  he  was  an  actor  who  the  Republican  Partv  hired  to  pla\  presi- 
dent. The  values  of  the  Phantom  Menace  mav  be  hidden  as  deeply  in  the 


I 


camouflage,  but  as  a  kid  who  has  grown  up  on  the  first  three  Star  Wars 
movies,  and  as  an  adult  who  has  experienced  the  secondhand  Star  Wars 
fanaticism,  I'm  more  prepared  to  see  what's  going  on  underneath  the  Phan- 
tom Menace. 

Shortly  after  the  Phantom  Menace  came  out,  I  ran  into  an  old  friend 
of  mine,  Todd.  Todd  and  I  had  gone  to  graduate  school  together,  and  we 
currently  write  for  the  same  magazine.  We  tend  to  agree  on  most  political 
and  social  issues,  so  when  something  new  surfaces,  we  like  to  approach 
the  subject  and  compare  notes,  to  check  to  see  if  the  opinions  we  ha%e 
formed  separately  are  still  similar.  Running  into  Todd  last  summer  and 
finally  getting  a  chance  to  sit  down  and  chat  with  him,  one  of  the  first 
things  he  asked  me  was,  "How  did  you  like  the  new  Star  Wars?" 

"I  liked  it,"  I  said,  because  I  did.  I  don't  want  all  of  my  criticism  in 
this  article  to  give  you  the  impression  that  1  hated  the  movie.  1  liked  it. 


About  This: 


rilogy  as  an  Extended  Allegory  for  the  American  Midwest 
^hantom  Menace   and  the  WTO  riots  if  they'd  existed  by  them- 
m  elected  queen  and  an  American  election  ruled  by  royalty  if 
lombined  the  two,  I  became  mildly  obsessed,  went  down  to 
ind  proceeded  to  look  for  more  insight  into  our  modern  soci- 

by  Sean  Carswell 


"Really?  I  had  real  problems  with  it."  Todd  said. 

I  asked  him  what  the  problems  were.  He  answered  by  asking  me  to 
describe  the  plot  to  him.  "You've  seen  it?"  I  asked. 

"Yeah.  I  just  want  you  to  put  the  plot  in  your  own  words." 

So  I  thought  about  it  for  a  while  and  said.  "A  greedy  Trade  Federa- 
tion forces  a  trade  embargo  on  another  planet  which  causes  that  planet's 
people  to  starve,  so  a  couple  of  Jedi  nights  go  to  the  greedy  planet's  lead- 
ers and  try  to  work  out  a  settlement  and  when  they  can't,  they  bring  the 
queen  of  the  second  planet  before  a  Congress  that  does  nothing  so  every- 
body fights  in  the  end."  I  paused,  thought  about  what  I'd  said,  and  said, 
"That's  pretty  much  it,  isn't  it?" 

Todd  nodded.  "Not  a  very  good  plot,  is  it?" 

Well,  no,  it's  not  a  very  good  plot.  But  1  didn't  want  to  admit  that,  so 
I  scowled  and  shut  up  and  waited  until  Thanksgiving  weekend,  when  the 
leaders  of  a  greedy  trade  organization  got  together  to  force  embargoes 
which  would  result  in  people  starving  and  our  leaders  and  congress  did 
nothing  about  it.  so  everyone  fought.  This  time,  though,  it  was  no  movie. 
It  was  a  protest  against  the  World  Trade  Organization,  and  it  was  very 
exciting.  I  couldn't  help  drawing  parallels  between  the  Battle  in  Seattle 
and  the  Phantom  Menace.  I  called  up  Todd  and  finally  made  my  counter- 
point. He  called  me  a  fanatic  but  agreed  to  watch  the  fiick  again  when  it 
came  out  in  video. 

I.  myself,  was  slow  to  rent  the  movie  again,  mostly  because  1  don't 
rent  movies  all  that  of^en,  and  usually  when  I  do.  I  like  to  rent  things  I 
haven't  seen  yet.  Also.  I'll  admit  it.  I  was  afraid  of  genuinely  becoming  a 
fanatic. 

Then.  I  saw  a  picture  of  Natalie  Portman  on  the  cover  of  some  maga- 
zine. It  sat  in  a  rack  next  to  a  magazine  with  George  W.  Bush  on  the  cover. 
It  reminded  me  of  something  that  had  bothered  me  about  the  movie  when 
I  saw  it  in  the  theaters  last  summer.  What  bothered  me  was  Queen  Amidala. 
Natalie  Portman "s  character.  It  didn't  bother  me  that  the  nation  was  ruled 
by  a  14-ycar-old  girl.  I  could  suspend  disbelief  on  that.  What  bothered  me 
was  that  she  was  both  a  queen  and  an  elected  official.  I  couldn't  under- 
stand that.  How  does  a  democracy  have  royalty?  Isn't  everyone  equal  in  a 
democracy?  Shouldn't  a  person's  bloodline  have  nothing  to  do  with  her 
ability  to  ailc  a  countrv'.'  And  if  that's  the  case,  then  isn't  it  either  a  ridicu- 


lous coincidence  or  a  sign  that  something  is  seriously  corrupt  with  the 
electoral  process  if  a  country  elects  a  ruler  based  on  w  ho  her  parents 
were?  This  threw  me  off  right  away  last  summer.  Now.  one  year  later. 
I'm  li\  ing  in  a  democracy  where  supposedly  no  royalty  exists  and  blood- 
lines have  nothing  to  do  who  gets  elected  as  the  ruler,  yet.  after  the  first 
Tuesday  in  this  coming  No\  ember,  my  ruler  will  either  be  the  son  of  a 
former  president  or  the  son  of  a  former  senator  from  Tennessee.  So  now 
Queen  Amidala  really  pisses  me  off  because  she  translates  as  either  King 
George  W.  (and  remember,  it  was  a  King  George  from  w  horn  Americans 
first  fought  to  free  themselves)  or  King  Al  Jr. 

1  could'\e  accepted  the  plot  parallels  between  the  Phantom  Men- 
ace and  the  WTO  riots  if  they'd  existed  by  themselves.  I  could've  ac- 
cepted the  parallels  between  an  elected  queen  and  an  American  election 
ruled  by  royalty  if  those  parallels  had  existed  by  themselves.  When  I 

combined  the  two,  I  became 
mildly  obsessed,  went  down  to  ni> 
local  library,  checked  out  the 
Phantom  Menace,  and  proceeded 
to  look  for  more  insight  into  our 
modern  society.  What  I  found 
shocked  and  amazed  me. 

The  first  very  telling  thing  about 
American  culture  came  when  the 
Jedis  found  themselves  on 
Tatooine.  The  Trade  Federation 
had  already  landed  on  Naboo  and 
took  over  the  people  there.  The 
people  of  Naboo  were  suffering 
greatly.  The  Gungans,  hidden  in 
their  underwater  ghetto,  were  in  a 
great  deal  of  danger.  The  Jedis  and 
Queen  Amidala  were  on  their  way  to  the  Senate  to  clear  e\  erything  up 
w  hen  the  hyperdrive  generator  on  their  ship  blew  out.  The  Jedis  and  the 
queen  landed  on  Tatooine  and  found  a  trader.  Watto,  who  had  the 
hyperdri\e  that  they  needed.  Watto.  however,  wouldn't  accept  the  cur- 
rency that  the  Jedi  offered  him.  This  launched  the  Jedis  and  the  queen 
into  a  long,  complex,  and  extremely  risky  plan  that  included  putting  a 
young  boy's  life  in  extreme  danger.  The  likelihood  of  the  plan  actually 
working  was  also  very  low.  but  the  Jedis  and  the  queen  (and  the  young 
boy's  mother)  saw  no  other  choice,  so  they  went  through  with  their  plan. 
Now,  I  understand  that  all  of  this  is  necessary,  in  the  context  of  the  mov  ie. 
for  the  advancement  of  the  plot.  1  accept  that.  My  problem,  though,  is 
that  I  see  another  choice.  They  have  money.  Watto  just  won't  accept  it. 
The  part  that  they  need  is  right  in  front  of  them.  Watto's  ownership  is  the 
only  thing  that  kept  them  from  taking  it,  fixing  their  ship,  ending  the 
suffering  of  half  the  people  on  a  planet,  and  preventing  the  other  half  of 
the  planet  from  being  taken  over.  Doesn't  it  make  a  hell  of  a  lot  more 
sense  for  the  Jedis  to  just  take  the  part,  fix  the  ship,  and  leave  the  planet'^ 
Yes,  they  would  be  stealing  the  part,  but,  ethically  speaking,  what's  more 
important:  paying  a  man  the  proper  amount  of  money  for  soinething  in 
his  possession,  or  ending  the  suffering  of  the  masses  and  protecting  the 
life  of  one  young  boy?  The  answer  is  clear  in  America.  It's  more  impor- 
tant to  pay  for  property.  Money  always  takes  precedence  over  the  well- 
being  of  the  masses.  That's  the  way  the  system  is  set  up.  America  is  not 
a  humanitarian  country.  It's  a  capitalist  country.  The  great  majority  of 
laws  and  legislation  are  geared  towards  protecting  property  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  people.  That's  why  it's  the  only  industrialized  nation  in  the 
world  that  doesn't  have  a  universal  health  care  system.  That's  why  law 
enforcement  and  prisons  siphon  so  much  money  away  from  education. 
That's  why  no  dole  exists  for  the  downtrodden,  but  McDonald's  gets 
millions  of  dollars  to  bring  Chicken  McNuggets  to  China.  That's  why 
unions  have  been  crushed.  Qui-Gon  Jinn  knows  this,  so  he  doesn't  even 
contemplate  taking  the  hyperdrive  generator.  Instead,  he  puts  a  boy's 
life  at  stake  and  leaves  everyone  else  to  starve.  And  when  it's  all  said 
and  done,  they  pay  the  man.  Like  good  Americans. 

The  precarious  plan  that  the  Jedis  and  queen  subject  the  boy  to 
in\olves  a  pod  race  that's  straight  out  of  NASCAR,  right  down  to  the 


smariiiv,  catch-phrasc-obsesscd  color  commentator,  the  fat  guy  in  the 
sky  box,  and  the  dangerous  hill  people  hanging  out  in  the  infield.  Essen- 
tially, Qui-Gon  Jinn  bets  his  ship  and  the  future  of  the  people  of  Naboo 
on  the  pod  race.  They  enlist  the  help  of  the  slave  boy,  Anakin  Skyualker. 
The  fact  that  .Xnakin  is  a  slave  brings  about  two  interesting  parallels. 
First,  the  queen  responds  to  Anakin's  slave  status  by  saying  that  she 
didn't  think  slavery  existed  anymore.  But  she's  a  queen.  Shouldn't  she 
be  up  on  foreign  affairs?  It  reminds  me  of  the  time  Kathie  Lee  Gifford 
supposedly  first  heard  that  her  line  of  clothes  was  made  in  Southeast 
Asian  sweatshops.  Kathie  acted  as  if  she  hadn't  known  all  along,  as  if 
she  couldn't  possibly  share  in  the  blame.  But  she  sponsored  those  clothes. 
Shouldn't  she  have  known  something  was  up  when  she  was  paid  mil- 
lions of  dollars  to  endorse  clothes  that  sold  for  10  bucks,  retail?  Of  course 
slavery  still  exists  in  the  galaxy.  It  doesn't  matter  if  it's  Naboo,  Tatooine, 
or  Manhattan,  if  people  live  in  castles  and  don't  have  to  work,  of  course 
there's  a  slave  whose  work  fuels  that  economic  inequality. 

Qui-Gon  Jinn  and  the  queen  tell  Anakin  that  they're  not  on  Tatooine 
to  free  the  slaves.  They're  more  interested  in  affairs  at  home,  which,  in 
all  fairness,  need  their  immediate  attention.  Qui-Gon  Jinn  does  free 
.\nakin.  though,  after  Anakin  wins  the  pod  race.  The  rest  of  the  slaves  in 
the  Tatooine  ghetto,  though,  the  slaves  who  don't  demonstrate  a  profi- 
ciency in  pt)d  racing,  are  left  to  wallow  in  their  poverty,  doomed  to  a 
crushing  fate  if  they  try  to  escape  the  ghetto.  Again,  this  is  awfully  simi- 
lar to  American  ghettos  where  kids  who  show  some  proficiency  in  a 
spectator  sport  are  freed  from  their  impoverished  fate  while  the  rest  of 
the  poor  are  left  to  wallow  helpless  in  the  ghetto.  The  rest  of  the  poor  in 
American  ghettos  also  tend  to  be  doomed  to  a  crushing  fate  if  they  try  to 
escape  (unlike  the  internal  bomb  the  Tatooines  use,  Americans  use  the 
prison  industrial  complex). 

The  last,  glaring  AmcricaTatooine  parallel  comes  with  Anakin's 
freedom.  Qui-Cjon  Jinn  is  incredibly  impressed  with  Anakin.  Anakin 
has  volunteered  his  pod  and  his  pod  race  talents  and  asked  for  nothing  in 
return.  .Anakin's  spectator  sport  success  directly  aids  Qui-Gon  Jinn  on 
his  mission.  Anakin  proves  to  be  a  smart,  good-natured  and  selfless  kid. 
His  Linique  talents  make  him  a  perfect  candidate  for  Jedi  training.  Qui- 
Gon  Jinn  even  believes  that  Anakin  is  the  chosen  one.  Yet,  before  Qui- 
( ion  Jinn  barters  for  this  amazing  kid's  freedom,  he  gives  the  kid  a  blood 
test.  How  representative  of  the  '90s  is  that?  In  a  society  so  obsessed 
with  the  contents  of  a  person's  blood  and  urine  that  the  results  of  a  blood 
or  urine  test  are  more  important  in  the  hiring  process  than  a  person's 
intelligence,  good  attitude,  work  ethic,  unique  talents  and  education,  I 
guess  it  just  makes  sense  that  our  heroes  and  saviors  should  have  to 
stand  up  to  a  blood  test,  too.  I  guess  it's  not  so  absurd  if  the  practice 
started  long  ago  in  a  galaxy  far.  far  away. 

The  parallels  between  Tatooine  and  America  are  most  likely  unin- 
tentional. George  Lucas,  when  writing  the  Phantom  Menace,  probably 
tried  to  create  a  bizarre  and  imaginative  world,  and  to  make  this  world 
believable,  he  anchored  it  in  the  society  surrounding  him.  It  is  not  my 
contention  that  Lucas  was  attempting  to  suggest  to  his  v  ievv  ers  that  money 
is  more  important  than  people;  that  royalty  generally  maintains  power, 
even  in  a  democracy;  that  most  kids  in  the  ghetto  won't  make  it  out  of 
the  ghetto  unless  they're  great  athletes;  or  that  blood  and  urine  tests  arc 
the  best  ways  to  screen  employees.  More  likely  than  not,  these  are  all 
cases  of  a  society's  values  being  so  ingrained  in  a  writer  that  he  doesn't 
realize  he  is  promulgating  them. 

When  the  main  characters  reach  the  Senate,  though,  Lucas  is  clearly 
taking  overt  political  jabs.  Shortly  after  arriv ing  on  galactic  capital  of 
(  oruscani.  Queen  Amidala  is  informed.  "There  is  no  civility,  only  poli- 
tics... the  Senate  is  full  of  greedy,  squabbling  delegates.  There  is  no  in- 
terest in  the  common  good."  Also,  the  Supreme  Chancellor  (the  presi- 
dent) has  "little  real  power.  He  is  mired  by  baseless  accusations  of  cor- 
ruption." f  his  isn't  subtle.  This  isn't  a  hidden  meaning.  This  is  authorial 
intrusion.  The  movie  even  goes  on  to  show  the  actions  of  the  Senate, 
which  essentially  amount  to  a  group  of  bureaucrats  who  respond  to  crimes 
against  humanity  by  appointing  a  committee  whose  job  it  is  to  do  noth- 
ing. The  bureaucrats  are  all  on  the  payroll  of  the  Trade  Federation.  This 
isn't  just  a  parallel  to  the  legislative  and  executive  branches  of  the  .Amen- 


So  I  put  this  equation  together:  forced 
to  live  in  crappy,  unnatural  conditions 
plus  receiving  all  the  negative  aspects 
and  none  of  the  positive  aspects  of  a 
global  economy  equals  working  class. 
So,  of  course,  when  it  all  comes  down 
to  the  battle,  who  has  to  actually  fight 
it?  Is  it  the  poor,  invisibly  suffering 
Naboo  middle  class?  Of  course  not.  It's 
the  Gungans.  The  working  class  fight- 
ing a  war  to  keep  the  rich  in  power. 


can  government.  This  is  a  direct  attack. 

It's  probably  no  coincidence,  either,  that  the  man  w  ho  turns  out  to  be 
the  purely  ev  il  force  in  the  galaxy  is  a  politician  battling  for  free  trade. 

What  really  breaks  my  heart  about  the  parallels  between  the  Phan- 
tom Menace  and  the  society  I  live  in,  though,  is  the  battle  at  the  end.  More 
specifically,  what  breaks  my  heart  is  the  role  of  the  Gungans  in  the  battle 
at  the  end.  When  Jar  Jar  Sinks  first  entered  the  movie,  I  noticed  his  Ja- 
maican accent.  I  wondered  at  first  if  the  Gungans,  then,  w  ere  supposed  to 
relate  to  the  Jamaicans  in  the  same  stereotypical  ways  that  the  greedy 
businessmen  of  the  Trade  Federation  had  Japanese  accents  and  the  gang- 
ster/junk merchant  had  an  Italian  accent.  I  also  thought  that  the  Gungans 
might  be  Jamaican  because  their  ears  look  a  lot  like  the  hairstyle  of  a  rasta 
guy  who  lived  in  my  old  neighborhood  in  Atlanta.  The  more  I  thought 
about  it,  though,  the  more  I  realized  that  a  direct  line  couldn't  necessarily 
be  drawn  between  the  Jamaicans  and  the  (jungans.  The  Gungans  relate  to 
a  broader  demographic. 

The  Gungans  are  innocent  bystanders  forced  into  a  battle,  unlike 
either  the  people  who  live  within  the  Trade  Federation  or  the  people  of 
Naboo.  Throughout  the  movie,  we  are  told  that  the  people  of  Naboo  are 
starv  ing  and  otherw  ise  sutTering,  but  we  don't  ever  see  any  of  the  people 
of  Naboo,  with  the  exception  of  their  politicians.  We  have  no  idea  what  a 
town  in  Naboo  looks  like,  what  the  customs  of  Naboo  are.  or  what  the 
overall  quality  of  living  in  Naboo  was  before  the  Trade  Federation  came 
along.  All  we  know  is  that  the  people  of  Naboo  are  starx ing  due  to  an 
invasion  by  the  Trade  Federation.  Therefore,  in  the  context  of  the  movie, 
the  Trade  Federation  is  bad.  But  we  don't  know  anything  about  the  Fed- 
eration, either,  except  that  two  of  their  leaders  are  unethical  inen.  But  is 
there  inore  to  the  actions  of  the  Trade  Federation?  We  don't  know.  It 
reminds  me  of  the  popular  .Xmerican  reaction  to  the  bombing  of  Jugosla- 
via last  year  (right  around  the  time  the  Phantom  Menace  hit  theaters).  We 
knew  that  the  people  of  Kosovo  were  starving  and  otherwise  sutTering. 
but  we  didn't  ever  see  much  of  them.  The  mainstream  media  didn't  ex- 
plain much  about  the  Ko.sovar  refugees,  what  their  lives  were  like,  what 
their  customs  were,  or  anything  like  that.  Likewise,  the  people  of  Yugo- 
slavia and  the  nature  of  their  contliet  with  the  Kosovars  was  completely 
ignored.  The  mass  media  presented  only  one  important  bit  of  infomia- 
tion:  that  Milosovic  was  the  next  Hitler.  Therefore,  we  knew  that  the 
Kosovars  were  good  and  the  Slavs  were  bad.  The  movie,  the  American 
government,  and  mass  media  demanded  that  we  not  ask  any  more  about 
the  situation.  Good  is  purely  good.  Lv  il  is  purely  evil.  There  is  no  room  in 
between  for  questioning  the  powers  that  be.  I  know  this,  though.  1  know 
that  the  leaders  of  Naboo.  the  Trade  Federation.  Jugoslav  la,  and  .America 
all  let  people  under  their  jurisdiction  starve.  All  of  them  do.  I  know  this, 
too.  I  know  that  Yugoslavia,  at  least,  has  universal  health  care. 

I  digress.  We're  talking  about  the  Gungans,  here,  and  what  breaks 
mv  heart  about  their  part  in  the  battle.  The  Gungans.  unlike  the  people  ot 


Naboo  and  the  Trade  Federation,  are  suffering.  We  can  see  that.  We  can 
see  that  the  Gungans  have  been  forced  to  hve  underwater  even  though 
they  are  clearly  not  aquatic  creatures.  And  this  is  before  political  disputes 
between  the  Naboo  and  the  Trade  Federation  bring  on  the  invasion.  We 
can  also  see  that  the  resolution  of  the  trade  disputes  won't  make  life  any 
better  for  the  Gungans,  but  their  quality  of  life  will  continue  to  get  worse 
until  the  disputes  are  resolved.  So  I  put  this  equation  together:  forced  to 
live  in  crappy,  unnatural  conditions  plus  recei\  ing  all  the  negative  as- 
pects and  none  of  the  positive  aspects  of  a  global  economy  equals  work- 
ing class.  So,  of  course,  when  it  all  comes  down  to  the  battle,  who  has  to 
actually  fight  it?  Is  it  the  poor,  invisibly  suffering  Naboo  middle  class?  Of 
course  not.  It's  the  Gungans.  The  working  class  fighting  a  war  to  keep  the 
rich  in  power.  Queen  Amidala's  plan  couldn't  be  more  transparent,  too. 
Essentially,  her  plan  calls  for  the  Gungans  to  walk  out  into  a  field  and  get 
shot  at  and  die  until  she  can  get  back  into  her  castle.  What  the  hell  kind  of 
plan  is  that?  Where  are  the  middle  and  upper  classes  of  Naboo?  They 
benefit  from  the  global  economy.  Why  don't  they  stand  out  in  the  field 
and  get  shot?  They're  the  ones  who  arc  so  dependent  upon  trade  that  they 
can't  even  feed  themselves  on  a  lush,  green  planet  like  Naboo.  Why  the 
hell  don't  they  fight  their  own  fights?  Why  do  the  poor  bastards  who  get 
nothing  from  the  government  always  have  to  die  for  the  government? 
Why  is  it  always  the  working  class? 

Queen  Amidala  gets  into  her  castle,  though.  She  remembers  the 
Gungans.  She  treats  them  well.  The  movie  ends  before  she  can  force  them 
all  back  into  the  swamps.  This  allows  me  to  calm  down  and  reinind  my- 
self that,  by  and  large,  it's  just  a  movie. 

All  of  this  begs  questions  about  life  imitating  art  and  about  the  in- 
tentions of  the  author.  Neither  of  these  questions  interests  me  too  much. 


As  I  mentioned  earlier.  I  don't  believe  most  of  these  parallels  are  in- 
tentional constructs  of  George  Lucas.  The  subtle  ideas  hidden  in  the 
Phantom  Menace  exist  in  the  movie  because  they  exist  all  around  us. 
By  and  large,  they  are  rarely  articulated  notions  that  lead  to  a  number 
of  the  problems  that  our  society  faces  today.  The  solutions  to  these 
problems  exist  just  as  subtly,  though,  in  all  four  Star  Wars  movies. 
They're  packed  in  a  little  frame  and  given  a  number:  R2-D2. 

Think  of  that  little  guy.  In  the  first  movie,  he  introduced  Luke  to 
Obi  Wan.  He  delivered  the  blueprints  of  the  Death  Star  to  the  rebel 
forces.  Then,  he  rode  shotgun  on  the  ship  that  destroyed  the  Death 
Star.  He  even  stopped  the  trash  compactor  fi-om  crushing  all  the  pro- 
tagonists. In  the  second  movie,  he  drove  Luke  Skywalker  to  Yoda  and 
went  through  Jedi  training  with  him.  In  the  third  movie,  he  helped 
spring  Han  Solo  and  Princess  Leia  from  the  grips  of  Jaba  the  Hutt, 
and  he  picked  the  lock  to  the  shield  generator,  which  allowed  Lando 
Calrissian  to  blow  up  the  Death  Star  again.  In  the  fourth  movie,  he 
restored  the  protective  shield  to  the  escape  ship,  he  jacked  up  the  hot 
rod  pod,  and  he  made  it  possible  for  Anakin  to  blow  up  the  droid  ship, 
thereby  disabling  all  the  warriors  who  were  killing  the  Gungans.  Ba- 
sically, of  all  the  protagonists  of  all  the  Star  Wars  movies,  R2-D2  was 
the  hero.  He  saved  everyone's  ass  and  no  one  saved  his.  And  no  one 
ever  really  acknowledged  him  as  anything  more  than  a  cute  bucket  of 
metal.  R2-D2  teaches  us,  though,  that  the  unrecognized  little  guy  has 
all  power.  He  builds  and  fixes  things.  He's  a  courier,  navigator,  me- 
chanic, student,  radical  and  electical  technician;  he's  a  laborer  and  a 
grunt.  His  ability  to  do  the  actual  work  and  apply  himself  to  a  cause 
allows  him  to  win  his  freedom.  To  hell  with  the  soldiers  and  politi- 
cians. Everything  depends  upon  that  little  guy.  ^ 


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[the  last  page] 


Clamor  n  Feb/Mar  2000 

Reflections  on  the  Seattle  protests. 

Interview  with  Howard  Zinn.  Amateur 

Boxing,  Internet  Privacy.  Political  Prisoners. 

Hiking  the  Appallachian.  Hines  Farm  Blues  Club, 

Grafitti  Writers.  Talking  With  the  Owner  of  Fuel 

Cafe,  White  Privilege  and  Racism,  the  Real 

Business  of  Coffee  and  MORE! 


Clamor  ^2  Apr/May  2000 

HMO  Horrors.  Non/Monogamy,  Interview 
with  John  Zerzan,  Women  in  Hip  Hop. 
Green  Consumerism,  Poetry  Zines,  Punk  and 
Anti-Racism.  Travelling  Cheap  in  Paris.  For  and 
Against  Extremist  Groups,  Coney  Island.  Non- 
profit Volunteerism,  May  Day  and  MORE! 


iinwt^iUf^ 


$4  each 
via  the  following  sites 

ground: 

CLAMOR 

PO  Box  1225 

Bowling  Green,  OH  43402 

space: 
www.clamormagazine.org 


Clamor  #3  Jun/Jul  2000 

A16  protests.  Drug  testing  in 

the  Workplace,  an  Anarchist 

Primer,  Consensus  Decision  Making,  Automobile 

Economics,  Harley  Davidson  and  the  Birth  of 

the  Outlaw,  the  Art  of  Tracy  Emin,  Rural  Life 

and  the  DIY  Ethic,  Victory  Records  and  the  Porn 

Industry,  Riding  NYC's  Subway.  Travelling 

Vegan  in  the  UK  and  MOREi 


Clamor  M  Aug/Sep  2000 

Perspectives  on  voting  {  &  not  voting)  and 

electoral  politics.  Interviews  with  Erroll  Morns 

and  Charles  Gatewood.  Art  Cars  in  America. 

Critical  Theory  of  Masculinity.  Adult  Liberation, 

Traveling  in  Kenya.  Animal  Rescuers,  Detroit 

Electronic  Music  Festival,  the  Labadie  Radical 

Literature  Collection,  Reflections  of  a  Daycare 

Worker,  Changing  Face  of  Richmond,  the  Rock 

Hall  of  Fame  and  MORE! 


Clamor  #5  Oct/Noc  2000 
Protests  at  DNC  and  RNC,  Food  Not  Bombs  20th 
Anniversary,  Hitchhiking  in  Croatia,  Vasecto- 
mies, Agribusiness,  Tales  from  a  Phone  Sex 
Operator,  the  Underground  Publishing 
Conference,  Short  Stones.  Alleged  Art  Gallery 
Owner  Aaron  Rose.  UN  Sanctions  Against  Iraq, 
Non-Monogamy,  Attica,  Bank  Fingerprinting  and 

MORE! 


i...j^i 
_*^-»»»-«'*^'«  »i."" 


L4.f«iaB*^i£j~ 


'If  we  just  look  inside  each  one  of  us,  a  thousand  rebellions  si 
...  I  will  try  everything  to  kill  the  sleeping  cop  in  i 
"Chorus  of  One,"  Strike  Anywhere,  201